by Michael Willoughby
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has awarded the country’s first licence for urban drone deliveries to Chinese tech company Antwork Technology, the company said in a press release.
Deputy Director-General of CAAC, Lv Erxue, granted the approval and business license in a ceremony in Hangzhou, China.
General Engineer of CAAC Yin Shijun says at the same event: ” Antwork acquiring the urban delivery pilot approval and business license is a major milestone in China’s civil aviation history.
Hopefully, Antwork will stick to safety operation requirements and expand in more commercial scenarios. At the same time, the operational experiences of Antwork should help the drone industry to explore scalable commercial applications as well as suitable regulations.”
The CAAC added it hoped Antwork’s operational experiences would help shape future developments in China’s drone industry.
Prior to this license acquisition, Antwork has carried out more than 20,000 test flights with over 60,000 km accumulated miles for the past three years, in Hangzhou City and many other regions in China.
In the first instance, Antwork will focus on transporting first-aid supplies, as well as instant delivery services in Hangzhou.
Antwork chief Zhang Lei added that the company hopes to operate about 1,000 commercial drone deliveries a day in Hangzhou: “For the next three to five years, Antwork aims to build an inner-city air delivery network for over 100 big cities worldwide, providing fast and reliable aviation service for business clients and consumers,” Zhang adds.
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