Zipline begins safety testing of new high-performance drones

Zipline, the company that has tranformed health supply deliveries in the country, has started safety tests on its high-performance drones in readiness of the opening of the third and fourth distribution centres.

Since its launch in Ghana, Zipline has safely delivered over 20,000 units of blood, vaccines and critical medicines to patients in need at more than 350 health facilities over the course of more than 4,000 flights from its distribution centres at Omenako and Mpanya.

A release issued by the company last weekend in Accra said as the company expanded to serve close to 2,000 health facilities, two other distribution centres would be opened in Vobsi in the North East Region and Sefwi Wiaso in the Western Region over the next four months.

“A key part of what will allow us to make that expansion possible and serve even more patients in need across the country is deploying a brand-new generation of drones, which fly further, faster and can carry more medicine,” it said.

It said in the next few weeks, Zipline would be testing the flight safety features of the new drone, which includes the parachute landing system, before the aircraft entered full service.

Safety test
It added that a successful test was conducted last week from its Mpanya centre.

“The parachute landing feature allows our plane to safely land in the event of things like unexpected bad weather or emergency requests from air traffic control.

“So if you see one of our drones making a parachute landing, know that it is an important part of what makes Zipline the safest and most reliable instant drone delivery service in the world,” the release said.

“Safety is our top priority and that’s why we have built it into everything we do.

Serving patients in Ghana is a tremendous honour.

And we are humbled by the opportunity to help improve the lives of people across the country,” it added.