Japanese airline ANA is setting up a delivery service with Wingcopter

The German drone manufacturer is thus expanding its position in Japan.

The German drone manufacturer Wingcopter from Weiterstadt in Hesse has signed a deal with the Japanese airline ANA. Together, they want to set up a delivery service for medicines and consumer goods in rural areas of the country. "The ongoing tests of the Wingcopter aircraft are a significant step forward in creating a viable drone transportation network," explained ANA Vice President Tetsuya Kubo in a press release. The contract amount was not disclosed.

The German start-up has been testing its drones in Japan since 2019. Wingcopter has another project in Malawi together with GIZ. An approval process for drones is underway in the USA. The cooperation with ANA will also focus on finding out which type of drone is best suited to which region. The Japanese government wants to allow commercial air traffic in near-Earth airspace as early as next year, reports Handelsblatt. Drones will then be allowed to fly over densely populated areas even when visibility is low. "We are very much looking forward to the next steps and the entire partnership with ANA in Japan and beyond," said Wingcopter CEO Tom Plümmer about the cooperation.