First drone operating license granted
The first operating license to allow experimental drone deliveries in China has been granted to a courier, civil aviation authorities said yesterday.
The East China Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China granted a subsidiary of China’s leading courier SF Express the license in east China’s Jiangxi Province. The license allows the commercial operation of drone deliveries in a pilot zone in Nankang District in Jiangxi’s Ganzhou City.
“The issue of the license means that drone transportation in China has entered a new stage,” said Wang Zhiqing, deputy director of CAAC, adding that the technology was expected to benefit people in rural areas.
“SF Express will build a drone delivery network, expand delivery services in those remote areas of complex topography and improve its logistics efficiency,” said Tian Min, a company executive.
Tian said the next step would be to expand the operation in the province and also the whole country.
Drone delivery tests have been carried out in Nankang District since last June.