For the first time ever in European airspace a two-seater passenger drone, originating from the Droneport in Sint-Truiden (Limburg), transported a medical cargo. During the fully unmanned and automated flight, the craft covered a distance of 2.6 kilometres. The medical cargo consisted of ten bags of blood.
"We must ensure that European legislation keeps up with technology and innovation" says MEP Hilde Vautmans (Flemish liberal/Open VLD). "The potential is huge. You can quickly transport blood between hospitals. You can get emergency doctors to hard-to-reach places much more quickly."
"It’s great we are making this possible. When drones were first launched the Red Cross was pleased with the prospect of them transporting one bag of blood. Today we are transported 10 bags."
It is the first time this type of drone flies so close to or over populated areas.
"This is a very important step," says Mikael Shamin, CEO of Helicus, the company coordinating the flight. "We are again a little closer to using drones for medical applications in everyday life."
According to Shamin, the drone is excellently equipped for this. "It has 16 motors and propellers. It can take off with a total weight of 600 kilograms. Today, we carried 480 kilograms. The drone has a range of 30 kilometres. There are types with wings that can go even further, but this type is extremely stable. That makes it extremely suitable for this kind of transport. By law in Belgium, medical partners are only allowed to be 25 kilometres apart. So this type of drone is well equipped for these kinds of transport."
Vautmans and Shamin, say it could still take a while before these transports become a reality. The general legal framework to allow drones to fly is in place, but the details still need to be worked out. Today's test was clearly a step in the right direction.