Setback
UPS chief executive Carol Tomé played down drones, saying they cannot fly in wind or rain and have many problems.
A delay, pause or setback · Company-reported
What the source says
“You can't fly them when it's windy. You can't fly them when it's rainy. There are lots of issues with drones.”
What it means
UPS Flight Forward, from UPS (with Matternet drones), is at stage 5 of 5 on our ladder: regulator-cleared or mass market. A setback stays on the record next to the milestones; the stage moves down only when the rules say so. This line rests on the company's own announcement; no regulator, customer or independent report confirms it in our sources yet.
Human help: The maker hasn't said whether people help it remotely.
More on UPS Flight Forward
- The FAA gave UPS Flight Forward permission to fly drones beyond the operator's line of sight, so it could deliver small packages with Matternet M2 drones.
- UPS Flight Forward and Matternet started two drone routes at Wake Forest Baptist Health in North Carolina, carrying medicines and protective equipment for COVID-19 staff.
- UPS also flew medical supplies by drone to The Villages retirement community in Florida.
- UPS became the first company to get FAA approval to run as a drone delivery airline.
- UPS Flight Forward began a drone network between hospital buildings in North Carolina using Matternet M2 drones, moving blood samples, lab specimens and prescriptions.