UPS Seeks Airline-Type Status for Long-Distance Drone Deliveries
- Courier to focus on health-care industry for aerial drop-offs
- Regulator urges drone operators to certify as charter airlines
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United Parcel Service Inc. is seeking approval to operate delivery drones under the same rules as a private jet service, unlocking the potential to carry health-care packages over long distances between hospitals.
The company is working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to obtain Part 135 certification this year, a step toward freeing it from current commercial drone limits on where and how far its robot airfleet can fly. UPS is already earning revenue off health-care deliveries such as blood samples within a hospital campus in North Carolina, operating under the more restrictive rules.