Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
For the first time in the European Union, a large passenger drone has been used to deliver blood during a test flight. On Tuesday afternoon, the aircraft flew one kilometer through the DronePort experimental airspace in Saint-Roden, Limburg, Belgium. According to the Belgian news agency, the drone is an Ehang 216 AAV, built by manufacturer EHang Holdings Limited, a two-seater passenger aircraft with 16 electric motors that flies at a cruising speed of 130 km/h and can stay airborne for up to to 30 minutes. The flight was conducted under the supervision of Helicus, a Belgium-based company that develops drone applications and technologies for medical transportation.
The drone's flight followed a pre-designed flight path. Safety pilots on the ground watched the flight closely and were on standby, but no intervention was required.
According to Helicus CEO Mikael Shamim, this is the first time that this type of drone has been flying in the skies over Belgium, and the first time in Europe that it has been used for medical transportation. "So far, no aircraft of this type has been able to fly close to residential areas," he said. According to Shamim, the approval is "essential to prepare the next step towards the effective use of medical applications in everyday environments."
EU regulations
However, there is still a lot of work to be done at the European level before these drones can effectively carry out medical transport. The European Union is working on this. "But as you can see, technology and innovation move faster than regulations," officials said. "Certainly in Europe we have to ensure that we can follow the evolution of this technology and innovation, because the applications here can be huge."