The European Union, through its Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy (adopted in 2020) and its Urban Mobility Framework (2021), supports the deployment of drones to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve mobility, alleviate urban congestion, and provide alternatives for the urgent delivery of goods, such as medical supplies. In November 2022, the Drone Strategy 2.0 was adopted to support a sustainable drone ecosystem.
Drones are therefore being used more and more in cities, particularly in projects such as Medifly-Hamburg—a service for the rapid transport of medical supplies throughout Hamburg—and TINDAiR, a series of demonstrations in Toulouse and Bordeaux aimed at safely integrating drones into existing airspace.
Medifly-Hamburg: Drones in the Service of Healthcare
The Medifly-Hamburg project is testing the use of drones to transport medical samples between hospitals. A 10-kg drone successfully completed a 5-km flight between two hospitals in just 10 minutes—faster than by ambulance—and with environmental benefits.
TINDAiR: The Safe Integration of Drones into Airspace
The TINDAiR project, for its part, explores the safe integration of drones into airspace alongside piloted aircraft by testing complex scenarios, including the management of airspace conflicts.
Social Acceptance of Drones: An EASA Study
Social acceptance of drones is the subject of research, notably through a study conducted bythe European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The results indicate that the majority of European citizens support the use of drones, particularly for medical or emergency services, but are concerned about issues such as noise, safety, and privacy.
European projects supporting deployment
At the same time, several European projects funded by the European Commission (such as U-ELCOME, BURDI, and EALU-AER) continue to test and develop technologies to support the deployment of urban air mobility.
Source: Latest Developments and Social Acceptance of Drones as Part of Urban Air Mobility – European Commission.
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