Zipline, a drone-based medical supplies delivery company, has obtained the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Part 135 air carrier certificate, which allows the company to launch commercial drone deliveries in the US.

Zipline now has the approval to make round trips up to 26 miles beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and fly over people in controlled airspaces.

Initially, the flights under the new approval will be operated from Zipline’s hub in Kannapolis, North Carolina for its partners Novant Health, Magellan Rx Management, and Cardinal Health later this month. The company also plans to launch its operations in Utah later this year in partnership with Intermountain Healthcare and expand its flights with Walmart in Arkansas that began last November under FAA Part 107 certifications—allows pilot testing of deliveries.

The company also revealed plans to expand its operations locally to include more geographies and use cases in the future.

Analyst QuickTake : Zipline now becomes the fourth company to have obtained the Part 135 certification in the US. All other players to have obtained the approval are incumbents, and the list includes Amazon Prime Air (August 2020), UPS Flight Forward (October 2019), and Google Wing (April 2019).