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SHENZHEN | Xinhua | A low-altitude flight test in an airport area was completed at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport on July 26, exploring how unmanned aerial vehicles can be integrated into busy civil aviation airspace.
The test simulated an urgent baggage delivery scenario where luggage needed to be transported from the airport to the city of Zhongshan across the Pearl River Delta. After the civil aviation flight arrived, the baggage was taken to the nearby drone take-off point at the airport. A logistics drone then took 25 minutes to transport the luggage to an airport hub in Zhongshan, a journey of about 50 kilometers.
The take-off area for this test flight was within the airport’s controlled airspace, which is mainly reserved for civil aviation passenger and cargo flights. The test flight validated the feasibility of drone operations in this area, providing valuable experience for future routine integrated flights, according to an official of Shenzhen Airport Group.
Chen Xiaohui, director of government affairs at Phoenix Wings, the company operating the drone, highlighted the significance of this test flight on the development of low-altitude logistics. The efficiency of logistics transportation will be greatly enhanced by effectively connecting high-altitude civil aviation cargo flights with low-altitude end-point logistics drones.
The test information was released by Shenzhen Airport Group at the High-Quality Development Conference of the Low-Altitude Economy in the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, which kicked off on Friday. ■
