ATLANTA - In a move that is surely a sign of things to come, US shipping company UPS has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate a drone airline for limited commercial package delivery to hospital campuses around the United States.
UPS chief executive David Abney said, “This is history in the making, and we aren’t done yet.
“Our technology is opening doors for UPS and solving problems for customers. We will now move to build our infrastructure, expand services for healthcare customers and put drones to new uses in the future.”
New uses? Travel companies could deliver tickets to customers, perhaps. Or hotels might deliver drinks and snacks to poolside guests.
Airwise reported the FAA certification allows the company to fly an unlimited number of drones with an unlimited number of remote operators on flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
US secretary of transportation Elaine Chao said the certification was “a big step forward in safely integrating unmanned aircraft systems into our airspace”.