Skyports’ drone delivery study for New York Port Authority could open door to other UAV activity

Irrepressible UK startup Skyports Drone Services has landed what – in theory, anyway – could be a gold mine of near- and long-term UAV activity through its new partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 

In announcing its new multi-year agreement with the Port Authority, Skyports said the initial focus will be on middle-mile drone deliveries between distribution centers and points of sale. The idea: elevate a hefty portion of the truck and van traffic currently clogging roadways in and around New York City and New Jersey into the sky with transport UAVs. 

That’s a fairly huge potential of entirely new aerial activity on its own, but more might possibly be ahead.

Given the enormous infrastructure the Port Authority oversees – including roads, bridges, tunnels, rail systems, waterways, ports, and the three huge airports in the area – it doesn’t take a wild imagination to anticipate Skyport’s early work on drone deliveries branching out into the infrastructure surveying and inspection work it does elsewhere in the world. Did someone say “ka-ching?”

For now, however, Skyports is limiting its scope to horizon expanding feasibility studies into the “regulatory, technical, operational, and commercial pathways across the Port District for enabling drone services, with an initial focus on middle-mile applications.” 

What then? For now it’s hard to imagine those activities one day evolving to point-to-point last-mile drone deliveries directly to end-customer homes in a densely packed urban metropolis like New York. But the city’s recent liberalization of UAV operations – and active efforts by New York authorities to expand those – means just about anything could happen, given enough time and tech perfection.

To make that even worth considering, Skyports must find ways drone delivery can enable “Port Authority aims to reallocate a meaningful portion of its cross-Hudson freight movements to greener modes of transport.” In doing so, the London-based startup will draw on its diversified transport, inspection, mapping, and offshore logistics experience with international customers to bring UAV activity to the 25-mile radius around the Statue of Liberty that that Port Authority oversees.

 “It may seem like something from the Jetsons, but if drone cargo proves viable it may be a low-carbon way to move the most valuable items between New York and New Jersey,” said Seth Wainer, the Port Authority’s program director of innovation. “We are exploring routes and starting to look for customers who may be interested in investing in this space alongside us.” 

Alex Brown, director of Skyports Drone Services, described the delivery feasibility study as the first step in what could be a longer aerial revolution for New York City and surrounding areas.

“Our partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a pivotal step for maritime and logistics focused drone operations in the US,” Brown said. “The Port Authority, with its extensive portfolio of maritime and aviation assets, including three of the busiest airports in the US, and the nation’s second-largest port by total cargo volumes, is well positioned to integrate (drone) applications in a highly complex operating environment. We look forward to partnering to explore the feasibility of drone operations in the Hudson River airspace, onboarding initial customers, and producing an actionable roadmap for UAS in New York City, with a view towards launching proof-of-concept operations within the Port District.”