Approaching to save lives: medical drone logistics receives flight permit for Saxony

Milestone for a company from Dresden: since 2019, the team at German Copters DLS GmbH has been working on implementing the idea of transporting medical materials and laboratory samples by drone. The company specializes in carrying out transports with drones.

After receiving the first operating permit for routes in Baden-Württemberg two years ago, it took some time to obtain approval for Saxony. Over the next few days, the infrastructure will be installed at the planned landing sites in Dippoldiswalde and Dresden and the first test flights will be carried out. If these go off without a hitch, regular flight operations will start soon. Further routes to Oschatz, Bautzen and Görlitz are being planned.

Rene Micknaß, CEO of German Copters: "We see extreme potential in this project for Saxony. The approval is another milestone on our way to improving medical care in the Free State. Transportation by air allows us to fly around traffic jams or construction sites and thus reduce transport times by up to 60 percent. It will also enable us to reach rural areas more quickly and thus ensure basic medical care."

Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Luther, Head of the East Saxony Medical Laboratory: "Drones enable us to bring samples to the laboratory much faster. This shortens the waiting time for results and facilitates quick decisions in treatment. This is a great advantage, especially for urgent samples - they can be picked up flexibly and analyzed immediately. This not only helps medical quality, but also the environment."

Thomas Kirchner, Medical Consultant at German Copters DLS GmbH: "We see the use of drones as a real benefit - both for doctors and patients. A concrete example: Due to closed bridges in Dresden and Bad Schandau, we are currently covering an additional 150 kilometers every day - this would not be necessary with drones."