Malta licences first-ever cargo drone for European market

Dronamics has become the first drone cargo airline to obtain an operational licence, granted by Transport Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate (TM-CAD).

The Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC) is the highest authorisation currently achievable under European drone operations and the first one issued in the EU for middle-mile cargo operations

It allows Dronamics to self-authorise flight operations across EU countries.

The announcement made during EBACE (European Business Aviation Conference Exhibition) comes at a key moment as the company prepares for the first commercial flights of its flagship Black Swan aircraft later this year.

Carrying 350kg at a distance of up to 2,500km, the Black Swan aims to transform supply chains by making fulfilment more efficient, resulting in cost, time and carbon emission savings.

Dronamics is the first cargo drone company to secure the licence by the CAD, allowing it to self-authorise flight operations of its Black Swan aircraft across EU countries, including Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) operations.

Dronamics plans to scale up its operations and run its first commercial flights out of Malta and Italy later this year. With Malta as its European operations base, Dronamics is well placed to operate its first routes over the Mediterranean, linking key hubs across the region.

Transport Malta has been spearheading the advancement of aviation innovation in Europe, as a global aviation hub thanks to government support for the UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) sector.

“During the past several months, our dedicated CAD inspectors, who did the job diligently, validated our belief in new technologies and innovation within the aviation industry. Since the initial contact with Dronamics, the operational concept, the experienced and passionate team, and above all the company mission, made us believe that Dronamics will be the pioneer of a new, safe, and exciting era of the drone cargo long range operation,” said Capt. Charles Pace, director of Malta’s civil aviation department.

“I would also like to thank the Rangelov Brothers and Dronamics’ airline team for selecting Malta for their new LUC and we are proud to have Dronamics as our new member of the 9H community.”

“Becoming the first cargo drone company to obtain LUC certification is a huge milestone for us and validates years of hard work in developing our unique and market-leading solution,” said Dronamics chief operating officer Sergio Oliveira e Silva.

“Our team has been involved in numerous AOCs on several continents before, and we are continuously impressed with the world-class professionalism and expertise of Transport Malta, coupled with a pro-innovation mindset.

With the support of such a sophisticated and technologically advanced regulator, and with Malta as our European operations base, we are well placed to progress our operations and start serving key routes across the Mediterranean later this year and continue our future expansion so that we can achieve our mission to enable same-day delivery for everyone, everywhere.”