UPS subsidiary UPS Flight Forward has received the U.S. government’s first full Part 135 Standard certification to operate a drone airline. This move allows the company to fly an unlimited number of drones with an unlimited number of remote operators, enabling UPS to scale its operations to meet customer demand.
The company will initially expand its drone delivery service to support hospital campuses and provide a variety of critical care applications. Flight Forward plans to eventually transport items for customers in other industries and fly drones beyond the operators’ visual line of sight. Earlier this year, UPS collaborated with drone technology company Matternett and conducted revenue-generating drone deliveries at the WakeMed hospital campus in Raleigh, N.C.
“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,” said David Abney, UPS CEO in a statement.
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