ORKID and Unifly to Test Drone Operations in Colombia

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Drone delivery startup ORKID has announced a partnership with global UTM service provider Unifly for the safe integration of drones into Colombian airspace.

In order to both guarantee that drones are safely and efficiently incorporated into the airspace, and to successfully carry out Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, the two companies are working together on a series of test operations.

The first of these test flights are set to commence during the second week of March, and will be held in the Tenjo Valley near Bogota, Colombia, where they will be observed by the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority – Aeronáutica Civil, the Colombian Air Force, and the Ministry of Transport.

These test flight operations will play a crucial role in the certification process required by Aeronáutica Civil, which will enable ORKID to continue to organize recurring commercial flight operations going forward.

ORKID aims to undertake similar operations in other countries in which it is also seeking to obtain regulatory approval certifications.

“The Unifly UTM solutions are an enabler to safely conduct BVLOS operations at scale,” said Unifly CEO Leon van de Pas. “We are pleased to be a part of this initiative and we believe that Unifly can offer great value to ORKID in this partnership, which in turn ensures safe and certifiable solutions to ORKID’s customers in the countries where they operate.”

“This was the last piece of the puzzle we needed to guarantee and showcase safe operations to the different civil aviation authorities in LATAM,” stated ORKID COO and founder Diego Pinzon. “Unifly’s vast experience in aviation and their unique solutions are going to help us comply with regulatory requirements, become ready for commercial operations, and scale our business.”

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Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.