A pilot drone delivery project is underway between Naples and Procida in Italy. The service is being managed by the Italian national postal service, Poste Italiane in collaboration with Leonardo and FlyingBasket. Italian regulator ENAC granted the operational authorisation.
The project is testing a daily freight transport system with drones capable of carrying loads of up to 40 kilograms. Drones supplied and remotely piloted by FlyingBasket take off from Bagnoli and land with their load on the island of Procida. All operations are managed from a control station, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). The take-off and landing areas have been provided by UrbanV.
The initiative is part of the National Center for Sustainable Mobility (MOST) research and innovation programme in which Poste Italiane and Leonardo participate. It is funded by the Ministry of University and Research with investment from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The pilot is scheduled to continue until the end of September with the possibility of extending. This first phase focuses on testing flight operations and the communication and control infrastructures required to activate the freight transport system.
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Image: FlyingBasket
