Matternet announces urban drone delivery network in Switzerland

Matternet will start developing an urban drone delivery network in Switzerland on January 1, 2023. The company announced this in a press release. To this end, Matternet is taking over all drone-related activities from the Swiss Post. Matternet will be responsible for both the technology and operation of the drone delivery network.

Switzerland leading the way

According to Matternet, Switzerland is leading the way when it comes to introducing large-scale drone delivery. This is due to robust regulations developed by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) and Switzerland's focus on implementing efficient and sustainable logistics.

Over the past five years, Matternet has partnered with Swiss Post to develop an urban drone delivery platform and operate commercial routes for Swiss Post customers. Matternet and Swiss Post achieved multiple world firsts together, such as operating the first BVLOS commercial drone delivery route over a city in Lugano (2017) and the first BVLOS commercial drone delivery route in a major European city in Zurich (2018).

Healthcare logistics first

“We thank Swiss Post for the partnership and everything we have achieved together over the past five years,” said Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO of Matternet. “With the extensive experience we have gained since 2017 operating drone delivery networks over Swiss cities, we are now ready to take the next step towards our vision of city-wide, ultra-fast and environmentally friendly drone delivery networks in Switzerland. ”

Matternet plans to launch the first European citywide drone delivery network in Switzerland in 2023, together with a group of private and public partners. The network will initially focus on healthcare logistics for B2B and B2C applications. Further details will be announced in the coming months.

Transition to sustainable transport

Matternet's vision is that the city of the future will rely on a citywide drone delivery network to meet urgent healthcare logistics needs and help on-demand e-commerce transition to a sustainable mode of transportation. Matternet announced its first network in September 2021 in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Health.