US drone delivery startup gets approval in New Zealand. EU and Australia could be next

A US startup has won permission to fly drones over people and beyond the view of their operators in New Zealand, a key regulatory step that could help open the skies over the EU, Australia and Canada to broader commercial use of unmanned aircraft. SkyDrop, based in Reno, Nevada, and previously called Flirtey, received approval from New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority to operate a drone delivery hub in Huntly, a small town south of Auckland. Permission to operate more freely could eventually vault drone delivery from the experimental phase to an economically viable business. “This is a major milestone for the industry and could make New Zealand the drone delivery capital of the world,” said Matt Sweeny, SkyDrop’s co-founder and chief executive officer. New Zealand regulators used a risk assessment model similar to ones in the EU, Australia and Canada, Sweeny said, adding that he’s confident additional countries will also grant his company approval.<br/>