An air carrier and operator certification was awarded to the unmanned aircraft system delivery company UPS Flight Forward by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week.
The company was approved under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program. In so doing, UPS Flight Forward now can make money off its package delivery activities within federal regulations, as well as deliver vital healthcare supplies by flying beyond visual line of sight. Multiple drones can operate under the new certificate.
“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. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said.
To receive the certification, UPS Flight Forward had to demonstrate it met FAA safety requirements and qualify for an air carrier certificate through data, documentation, and test flights. It had already partnered with the North Carolina Department of Transportation in the past, delivering blood for transfusions and other lab work-focused medical samples around a hospital campus in Raleigh, N.C.