Last mile drone delivery in Germany benefits from BVLOS authorisation by the regulator

After two years of joint developments, the German Federal Aviation Office granted Koerschulte the operating license to conduct regular flight operations following Specific Assurance and Integrity Levels (SAIL) III approval. On February 21, 2024, the first BVLOS automated drone took off from Lüdenscheid, Germany. The drone is controlled and monitored by the Integrated Control Center (ICC) provided by HHLA Sky, a core element that makes drone service scalable.

The ICC allows one remote pilot to manage and control up to 12 drones at a time, with in total more than 100 drones in the air simultaneously. With this, the ICC proved to be the key enabler for cost-efficient BVLOS delivery operations, says HHLA Sky.

The Koerschulte drone delivery airline plans to add five additional flight routes in the next few months in Lüdenscheid. Up to 80 parcels per day will be flown to local customers by the automated drones and the project partners are planning to introduce further routes in Germany and Europe.