Is it BVLOS licence award season in North America?

It was Percepto and Valmont a few days ago.

And today is Canadian drone maker Drone Delivery Canada’s turn to announce that they have been granted approval for Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) flights, along with the transportation of dangerous goods for its Care by Air drone route in Canada.

A bit of background: the Care by Air project kicked off last November as a six-month drone delivery partnership involving Drone Delivery Canada (DDC), logistics company DSV, McMaster University and Air Canada Cargo.

The goal was to deliver vital and potentially time sensitive medical supplies from DSV to Halton Healthcare’s Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital using DDC’s Sparrow drone, its DroneSpot take-off and landing zones and also its FLYTE software.

The project’s longer-term strategy involves creating a web of flight routes to interconnect all three Halton Healthcare hospitals in Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills, making it one of the first in Canada to usher in the next horizon in healthcare delivery

Now with this BVLOS approval from Transport Canada, DDC feels it has reached a significant milestone, where recognition of its cutting-edge technology, rigorous safety standards, and commitment to advancing the field of drone logistics has reached important government levels.

“With the BVLOS flight authorisation, DDC’s drones will be able to operate beyond the visual range of operators, expanding the reach and capabilities of their autonomous fleet, while achieving a significant improvement in operational efficiencies,” DDC said in a statement.

“The Care by Air project is the Company’s longest commercial route to date at 13.4km and involves the transportation of medical radioisotopes by drone and is the first of its kind within Canada. The Company has worked in collaboration with McMaster University, DSV Canada Inc., Air Canada Cargo, Halton Healthcare and the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital on this project.

“Transport Canada has approved DDC to conduct BVLOS flights in the Golden Horseshoe/Southern Ontario area while transporting Class 7 dangerous goods. The Company’s procedures, practices and personnel were audited by both the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (“CNSC”) and Transport Canada to ensure that the Company met the strict safety requirements needed to both operate BVLOS flights and to transport medical radioisotopes.”

Reiterating that all operations will be conducted in line with all regulatory requirements for aviation and movement of dangerous goods, DDC added that the approval for dangerous goods transportation was a testament to the company’s stringent adherence to safety protocols and demonstrates its ability to handle and transport a wide range of medical supplies and hazardous materials securely.

“We are extremely proud to have received these crucial approvals from Transport Canada for our Care by Air project,” said Steve Magirias, CEO of Drone Delivery Canada.

“This is a significant achievement not only for our company but for the entire drone delivery sector. With BVLOS flights and dangerous goods transportation authorisation, we can now take a giant leap forward in transforming the way healthcare supplies are transported, ensuring faster delivery times and enhancing overall patient care.”

“Achieving BVLOS status on our Care by Air drone route is a major step forward in our mission to provide safe, reliable and efficient drone delivery services to communities across Canada. We believe that drone delivery has the potential to revolutionize the way we deliver essential goods and services, and we are proud to be at the forefront of this exciting industry.”