Pošta Slovenije tests drone delivery

Maribor – The Slovenian national postal company has carried out its first drone test flight in cooperation with the Slovenian company OneDrone. This is the first step towards drone delivery of urgently needed parcels to areas where conventional vehicles cannot deliver them quickly and efficiently.

As the national post operator Pošta Slovenije announced today, many companies around the world are already successfully using drones to deliver a wide variety of parcels, but the current European legislation does not yet allow flying out of sight.

According to CEO Tomaž Kokot, the company wants to be actively involved in the process of drafting regulations governing the flying and operation of drones in Slovenia, with the clear aim of finding new business opportunities.

Technology has long made this possible, but it is the regulations governing airspace that are the sticking point. At the moment, there is little room for manoeuvre in Europe to allow such deliveries on a large scale.

“Potential use of drones in delivery is wide-ranging: delivery of laboratory samples to and from remote areas, delivery of goods from ships to land, even the delivery of online purchases to end customers. We see great potential here at Pošta Slovenije, also for the online shopping delivery segment,” Kokot said.

The main advantages of using drones at Pošta Slovenije include reducing pollution, optimising logistics routes, and fast delivery of essential goods and materials to hard-to-reach and remote areas.

There is also great potential for the supply and delivery of mail to mountain lodges and mountain huts and for the transport of waste to the valley in the opposite direction. The same applies to the delivery of medicines and medical supplies in emergencies.

According to Kristijan Perčič, the head of innovation at Pošta Slovenije, the company’s next steps in this area will be focused on cooperation between companies and the creation of a consortium that will advocate for the commercial use of autonomous aircraft, while also helping to draft up-to-date legislation.

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