DGCA permits SpiceJet to conduct drone trials in India

May 29, 2020: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a formal approval to the Indian carrier SpiceJet to conduct drone trials.

"Post trials and approvals, SpiceXpress, the dedicated cargo arm of SpiceJet, plans to use drones to provide for a quicker, faster and cost-effective delivery of medical, pharma and essential supplies and e-commerce products.

A SpiceXpress-led consortium had submitted a proposal to the regulator for conducting experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations of remotely piloted aircraft in response to a DGCA notice inviting Expression of Interest. Based on the recommendations of the BVLOS Experiment Assessment and Monitoring Committee, SpiceXpress was granted permission for conducting experimental BVLOS operations.

Consortium
The consortium includes Throttle Aerospace, a drone manufacturing company, AeoLogic, an analytics and software solution firm and Involia, which is a provider of air traffic awareness and collision avoidance services.

On April 18, 2020, the ministry of civil aviation issued an order by permitting 13 consortiums to conduct BVLOS experimental flights of drones under the supervision of the monitoring team.

1) Aerospace Industry Development Association of Tamil Nadu (AIDAT) 2) ANRA Consortium A. 3) ANRA Consortium B 4) Asteria Aerospace 5) ClearSky Flight Consortium 6) Dhaksha Unmanned Systems 7) Dunzo Air Consortium 8) Sagar Defence Engineering 9) Saubika Consortium 10) ShopX Omnipresent Consortium 11) SpiceJet 12) Throttle Aerospace Systems 13) Value Thought IT Solutions.

Ajay Singh, chairman & managing director, SpiceJet, said, "Innovation and technology have always been at the core of SpiceJet's mission and vision and we have always strived to innovate with our products and services to offer better experiences. Testing of drone technology for last-mile connectivity and cost-effective cargo deliveries are a big leap in the air transportation of essential and non-essential supplies in India. We are extremely optimistic about using this exciting new mode of delivery for products like perishables and medicines which have a smaller shelf-life and need urgent deliveries in the remotest parts of India."

"SpiceXpress will be looking at last-mile delivery from the warehouse and the prime focus will be on delivering medical emergency parcels and essential supplies in remote areas. Drones will ensure a faster delivery bringing down costs and would go a long way to augment our business to offer express delivery of medicines, perishable items and e-commerce shipments," says the release.