Malta’s first delivery drone service makes its maiden flight

Malta’s first delivery drone service took to the air for the first time on Friday. 

On Friday, the Skymax drone, created with the collaborative efforts of QuAeuro, Phoenix Wings and HandsOn Systems, flew successfully from Ċirkewwa to Comino carrying medical supplies including a number of Covid-19 swab tests and blood bags. 

The drone can be used to deliver supplies of medicine or first aid in an emergency. It can also be used to transport documents as well as urgent medical goods with the aim of saving lives and saving time.

The aim of this delivery drone will be one that will facilitate the transport between Malta and Gozo of many items, especially those that are deemed urgent. These types of drones will be able to travel to a maximum speed of 80km/h and maximum length of 80 kilometres. This means that this drone makes about a kilometre per minute. 

In addition, it is understood that in case of an urgent trip between the Malta hospital and the Gozo hospital this drone will make the trip in between 20 and 30 minutes. This type of drone weights just under 25 kilos and is capable of carrying 10 kilos of cargo and supplies. 

Minister Borg explained how this will be another big step for the aviation industry as well as for the technology sector in Malta. 

He said that “today more than ever we are seeing how drone technology is dynamic as it offers many different services to make life easier.” 

The government plans to implement the use of technology in other areas and sectors such as land transport with the example of autonomous buses, the process towards the use of electric cars as well as the use of technology in the aviation sector, Borg said. 

“Although we are still in the testing phase, once these drones are successful, we will continue to ensure that more traffic is eliminated, thus contribute to less pollution.” 

“This project and others continue to show that Malta is open to new ideas and is a testament to this government’s commitment to further success. We are committed to maintain our country as a platform to design, develop and implement such innovative ideas, which can change the way we live as a society and contribute to a better life,” Borg said. 

Civil Aviation Director Charles Pace said that the introduction of a drone is proof of how technology can be applied and adapted to carry out valuable work. 

“In today’s case, the exercise was to transport blood from one place to another. This is an exercise that we see being done quite frequently outside of Malta. Now it will also be done in Malta,” Pace said.