US: UPS becomes first US company to win approval for a drone airline

UPS says it has won government approval to run a drone airline, a first for a US company, and it plans to expand deliveries on hospital campuses and eventually other industries. UPS Inc. said Tuesday that its drone subsidiary was awarded an airline certificate last week by the FAA. Even before getting the airline designation, UPS Flight Forward, as the subsidiary is called, has operated more than 1,000 flights at Wake Forest University's medical center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The designation removes limits on the size of the company's potential drone operation. Flight Forward can fly an unlimited number of drones, a key step toward expanding the operation. It can also fly drones at night – the company plans to do that after installing the necessary colored warning lights on each drone. However, UPS still faces severe restrictions before it can run a large commercial operation with drones.<br/>