Dronamics attains operational license, an EU first for drone operators

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Dronamics has become the first drone operator to attain a drone airline license – the EU’s Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC) which is recognised in all EU member states.

The announcement was made during EBACE 2022 and comes at a key time as Dronamics prepares for the first commercial flights of its flagship Black Swan aircraft later this year.

Carrying 350 kg 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.

We are excited that we are the first cargo drone company to secure the licence granted by the Transport Malta Civil Aviation Directorate (TM – CAD), the country’s Civil Aviation Authority. The licence allows us to self-authorise flight operations of our Black Swan aircraft across EU countries, including Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) operations.

This announcement comes at a time when we prepare to scale up our operations and run our first commercial flights out of Malta and Italy later this year. With Malta as our European operations base, we are 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, thanks to its expertise as a global aviation hub as well as government support for the UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) sector.

Capt. Charles Pace, Director General, Civil Aviation Directorate, Transport Malta said: “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.”

Sergio Oliveira e Silva, COO, Dronamics said: “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. 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.”