Flylogix has flown one of its uncrewed aircraft from Tingwall Airport in Shetland across the UK-Norway maritime boundary to survey an Equinor oil platform for methane, and back again, according to reports published on 21 September 2026 by Shetland News, The Shetland Times and Offshore Energy.

The flight took place on 11 July 2026. Shetland News reports that Flylogix "deployed one of its state-of-the-art uncrewed aircraft from Tingwall Airport to carry out a methane emissions survey of Equinor’s Statfjord B platform on 11 July", and that the operation "is the first time a civilian cross-border drone flight has been made from the UK and is among the first of its kind in Europe".

The flight

The Shetland Times reports that the aircraft "travelled 290 nautical miles, taking four hours and 50 minutes to complete the journey", and that the platform "is situated on the other side of the UK-Norway maritime boundary". The Statfjord B platform "sits in the southern section of the field in 145 metres of water, was installed in 1982 and started production that same year", the paper says.

Shetland News says the flight "forms part of Flylogix’s ongoing work with Equinor to monitor and measure methane emissions from its North Sea infrastructure", and that "Flylogix said delivering the operation safely required close coordination with UK and Norwegian aviation authorities, alongside Equinor’s own teams". Offshore Energy puts the same point as the company completing the operation "in close coordination with the relevant UK and Norwegian aviation authorities, alongside Equinor’s own operational teams, to ensure the flight met the regulatory requirements of both basins".

What the company and the Norwegian controllers said

Charles Tavner, Flylogix's chief executive, called it a "hugely significant moment for Flylogix and for the wider industry", Shetland News reports. Offshore Energy quotes him: "Flying a drone from the UK to survey an asset in Norwegian waters shows that our long running ambition to deliver remote, cross-border drone operations safely has been realised."

He added: "Norway has always been a key part of our growth strategy – this flight is the clearest possible demonstration of what that expansion looks like and we will now look to take our pioneering solution further afield." On what comes next, The Shetland Times quotes him: "Having established what safe, remote drone operations look like in practice, we're now in a position to take that model to other basins that need to tackle their methane emissions."

Offshore Energy carries a statement from Sindre T Johnsen of Polaris ACC at Avinor ANS, which it describes as "the state-owned provider responsible for safe and efficient air traffic control in Norwegian airspace". He is quoted: "The successful completion of this operation has been a valuable milestone for the introduction and integration of uncrewed aviation in the North Sea. High standards for operational safety and a harsh environment make this area a challenging task." He adds that "Close cooperation of Aviation Authorities, Air Navigation Service Providers, Equinor and Flylogix has made this possible."

Why it matters to UK operators

This is a UK-based uncrewed aircraft leaving UK airspace to do survey work in another country's waters and returning, with both countries' aviation authorities and Norway's air traffic control provider involved. Shetland News reports Flylogix's own case for the method: the company "said its low-emission, remotely piloted drones offer a safer and lower-cost alternative to conventional aerial survey methods, while significantly reducing the carbon footprint of that work". That is the company's claim rather than an independent finding, but the flight it describes is a real one, with a named customer and a named platform.

Shetland News also notes a second cross-border plan from the same airport: "Another drone company, Windracers, intends to fly an uncrewed aircraft from Tingwall to Norway – but in this instance the drone would land on the ground."

What the sources do not say

None of the three reports names the aircraft type, the authorisations the flight was made under in either country, the altitude or route flown, or where the remote pilots were. They do not say why an 11 July flight was announced on 21 September, whether further cross-border flights are planned for Statfjord, or what the survey found. Flylogix's own news-release page did not carry a statement about the flight when UK Drone Directory checked it on 21 September 2026; the quotes above are as reported by the three outlets named.