As a delivery company, UPS has certainly done a lot in terms of trying to improve on its operations with hi-tech solutions. In fact, more recently, it seems that you might be able to expect to start seeing more UPS drones making deliveries, thanks to the FAA recently giving the company’s subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, the approval to act as a “drone airline”.
This means that UPS Flight Forward will be able to use drones to make commercial deliveries. It also means that the company is the first company to claim the Part 135 Standard certification, where they’ll be able to operate an unlimited number of drones, fly them at night, and have their drones and payloads weigh more than 55 pounds.
Before you get too excited at the prospect of seeing a drone land on your lawn with your online purchases, it won’t be happening so soon. This is because UPS is initially planning on using its drone deliveries for hospitals and medical campuses across the US, before expanding their operations to cover special commodities and other regulated goods.
According to UPS CEO David Abney, “This is history in the making, and we aren’t done yet. 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.”
Filed in . Read more about Drones, Faa, Legal and Ups. Source: pressroom.ups