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Global flight designators clear Dronamics’ drone delivery flights

Middle-mile aerial transport specialist Dronamics has added another milestone atop its achievement of being the first accredited drone cargo airline in Europe with the reception of designation codes from the world’s main air transport organizations, placing it on operational par with the legacy freight and passenger carriers of the world.

Though outwardly administrative in nature, reception of the codes from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is an essential operation point of passage for any aerial service company to function as an airline. The designator “OY” and accounting prefix “651” will become key identifiers of Dronamics craft, route, and individual flight activities in the cargo transport and delivery activity it plans to launch using its Black Swan drones later this year.

Dronamics obtained certification from European Union regulators to operate as a drone cargo transport airline in May of last year, clearing the way for it to establish regular scheduled middle-mile delivery service of Black Swan drones.

Read moreDronamics obtains first certification for EU-wide drone deliveries

Reception of its IATA codes enables the company’s integration with other carriers, and facilitates it striking operational agreements with other companies, firming up connection arrangements with freight forwarders, and publishing set flight schedules.

The ICAO code of “DXE” will serve as the designation of all Black Swan drones. It will be used by air traffic controllers and Dronamics technicians monitoring autonomous middle-mile delivery flights that will cover hundreds or thousands of kilometers – first across Europe, then spread to other continents.

“Becoming the first cargo drone airline with both IATA and ICAO designator codes is a testament to Dronamics’ pioneering spirit and our vision for faster, cheaper, and green air cargo for everyone, everywhere,” said company CEO Svilen Rangelov. “This recognition by the leading aviation community reinforces our position on the international aviation map.”

Dronamics is an outlier in the increasingly crowded drone delivery sector dominated – almost exclusively – by companies providing relatively short-distance transport of goods between retailers, food outlets, and their local consumers. 

Dronamics, by contrast, will use its Black Swan drones to provide middle-mile service from hundreds to of up to 2,500 of kilometers. Those will link urban centers and recipients of orders in areas where last-mile aerial deliveries aren’t available, and where purchases are now transported by long-haul ground vehicles can take days or weeks to arrive.

Read: DHL expanding drone activities with middle-mile UAV deliveries

Dronamics has raised over $40 million in investor funding ahead of its expected initial service launch later this year. That financing includes both grants from and an equity position by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator advanced tech support program.

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Avatar for Bruce Crumley Bruce Crumley

Bruce Crumley is journalist and writer who has worked for Fortune, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, The Guardian, AFP, and was Paris correspondent and bureau chief for Time magazine specializing in political and terrorism reporting. He splits his time between Paris and Biarritz, and is the author of novel Maika‘i Stink Eye.

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