Air cargo’s top 3 tech trends of 2019

#3 Drone development race

Although society has not pioneered the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) for dog walking, as seen during Marty McFly’s visit to the 21^st century in Back to the Future Part II, the boom in drone tests this year did initiate a race to develop drones for large scale commercial operations to deliver cargo.

Although the exploration of drones to carry goods and shipments is still in its early stages and remains highly contested with varied approaches to regulation and adoption by region, stakeholders in air cargo recognize that technology presents an opportunity to fill gaps in supply chains and access new markets.

This year saw a series of leaps in the evolution of drone technology. In North America, UPS subsidiary UPS Flight Forward (UPS FFF) acquire the approval of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate a drone airline in October, while Amazon also petitioned the FAA for approval in August. Some airports, like London Heathrow (LHR) and Gatwick (LGW) airports, banned the operation of drones. Others, like Edmonton International Airport (YEG) and Helsinki (HEL), have taken the opposite approach and instead are working with companies, like Drone Delivery Canada and Skyports, respectively, to establish and test on-airport drone operations.

Globally, companies tested the actual delivery of products ranging from KFC to medicine by drones, as well as the use of drones in warehouse operations. Beyond residential and commercial deliveries, some companies are using drones to explore the delivery of goods to remote communities and disaster relief operations.

The development of this disruptive technology was clearly a hallmark of 2019 and is a trend the industry can expect to continue into 2020.