Dronamics, Qatar Airways Cargo team up for drone services

The agreement will allow Dronamics to fly cargo drones for Qatar Airways Cargo from any of its planned drone ports to remote locations in its network such as the Greek Islands, Dronamics said in a press release.

Joint drone deliveries will eventually be extended to Qatar Airways Cargo network global destinations like Singapore, China including Hong Kong, and JFK Airport in the U.S.

According to Dronamics, there is significant potential for swift and reliable shipping of goods, including pharmaceuticals, food, orders, mail, parcels and spare parts to and from areas that may not be adequately served by air freight.

"We’re very excited to have the world’s largest air cargo carrier as our partner for the first-of-its-kind interline agreement with our category-defining cargo drone airline," Dronamics co-founder and CEO Svilen Rangelov said. He added that although at present less than 1% of global trade occurs by air, the extensive global coverage and capacity of Qatar Airways Cargo will be a stepping stone to boosting air cargo accessibility for communities worldwide.

The EU-licensed cargo drone airline is scheduled to start commercial operations in Greece in early 2024. At the beginning of November, Dronamics partnered with Hellenic Post ELTA to initiate the first cargo drone deliveries for the Greek national postal service.

Dronamics also recently announced plans to set up a joint venture with its largest investor, the Strategic Development Fund (SDF) of the United Arab Emirates for the production of its flagship Black Swan aircraft, starting from 2025.