UPS is getting into the 'drone airline' delivery business
UPS is getting into the drone delivery business.
The package delivery service announced Tuesday that it has become the first company in America to obtain governmental approval to operate "a drone airline."
“This is history in the making, and we aren’t done yet,” UPS CEO David Abney said in a press release. “Our technology is opening doors for UPS and solving problems in unique ways for our customers. We will soon announce other steps to build out our infrastructure, expand services for healthcare customers and put drones to new uses in the future.”
Even before getting the airline designation, its subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, had operated more than 1,000 flights at Wake Forest University's medical center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The designation removes limits on the size of the company's potential drone operation. Flight Forward can fly an unlimited number of drones, a key step toward expanding the operation. It can also fly drones at night -- the company plans to do that after installing the necessary colored warning lights on each drone.
"UPS has proven the need for drone delivery in healthcare operations, where the shortest time in transit can improve efficiency and help healthcare professionals serve their patients better . . . UPS is ready to build on this application and expand to a variety of critical-care or lifesaving applications . . . UPS has established itself as a leader in unmanned aerial vehicle delivery, having tested drones for urgent commercial deliveries over water; funded and supported humanitarian deliveries in Africa; and tested non-urgent commercial residential delivery in rural areas with drones launched from a UPS package delivery car."
“This is a big step forward in safely integrating unmanned aircraft systems into our airspace, expanding access to healthcare in North Carolina and building on the success of the national UAS Integration Pilot Program to maintain American leadership in unmanned aviation,” U.S. Transporation Secretary Elaine Chao said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.