Spanish Police Chooses Elistair Drone Tether for the UEFA Champions League
Elistair Team
3 minutes
During the UEFA Champions League Final played on 1 June 2019 at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, police forces used Elistair tethered drone system coupled with UMILES Global solution U06 Plus drone for traffic monitoring, crowd control, and global surveillance, for the event’s safety.
The use of tethered drone systems is transforming event safety strategies by providing continuous aerial surveillance for security operations. At large-scale sports events, such as the UEFA Champions League final, these systems offer unparalleled advantages in crowd control and situational awareness.
Event Safety Response For A Major Sport Gathering
For the 64th season of Europe’s premier club football tournament, Madrid welcomed 200 000 fans in its streets and more than 67 000 in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. In response to the heightened terrorist threat level in Spain, authorities conducted the largest security operation for any sporting events in the Spanish capital.
The response included 4700 police officers, civil protection teams, firefighters and paramedics on standby and for the first time, a drone piloted by UMILES Global Solutions teams, and tethered to Elistair’s Safe-T station.
Police Director Francisco Pardo said this was probably the largest deployment ever made to ensure public safety, and that aerial control of the surroundings and coordination in real time via a drone was a unique capability.
One Permanent Aerial View for Enhanced Event Safety
The Umiles Drone was placed near the stadium. They connected it to Elistair’s Safe-T station for longer flight time. Constantly supplied with power, the drone maintained its position at 50 meters height for 8 consecutive hours.
Watching over the stadium surroundings and 3000 spaces car park, it provided authorities with immediate images of the crowd and vehicles movements, considerably facilitating the decision-making process and coordination of security teams.
The National Police had instant access to the drone images through a fibre connection and directly communicated with UMILES pilots to monitor the camera and control the main highways and streets leading to the stadium, as well as the crowd movements and the entrances of the Wanda Metropolitano.
Unlike traditional drones, tethered drones provide uninterrupted real-time monitoring without battery limitations, ensuring that security teams can maintain a constant aerial view of high-risk areas. This capability is particularly beneficial for monitoring entry points, detecting unusual crowd behaviors, and coordinating emergency responses with greater precision.
Additionally, the secure data transmission of tethered drone systems prevents signal interference and ensures a reliable feed for law enforcement agencies. This allows for seamless communication between ground teams and command centers, improving reaction times and decision-making processes in high-stakes environments.
National Police needed eyes in the sky to control the Stadium surroundings during the 8 hours deployment. The tethering system was the key to achieve this mission and maintain our drone in the air for so long in the safest conditions, all the more since we had to fly day and night, with buildings very close, a lot of people walking around and helicopters flying in the same area.
It is the first time a drone company has been allowed to fly in such conditions. This would not have been made possible without the Safe-T tether”
