DroneUp, a drone-based delivery services provider, has received Part 135 air carrier certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing the company to conduct commercial beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone deliveries over populated areas.

The certification enables DroneUp to expand its delivery radius to five miles and transport packages weighing 10 lbs, increasing its serviceable household coverage by 300% in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Initial operations will begin in Murphy, Texas, with plans to expand to 10 additional locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

The company will continue working with the FAA to expand operations, including flying longer distances, carrying heavier payloads, and reaching more communities across the US.

Analyst QuickTake : DroneUp now joins the handful of companies that have obtained the Part 135 certification in the US. Other players to have obtained the approval include Matternet’s Ameriflight (May 2023), Flytrex (January 2023), Zipline (June 2022), Amazon Prime Air (August 2020), UPS Flight Forward (October 2019), and Google Wing (April 2019).