Edmonton International Airport making progress on drone deliveries [Video]

A first-of-its-kind drone delivery system at the Edmonton International Airport is expanding.

Large drones can now safely share airspace with planes, co-ordinating with flights landing and taking off — and the Montana First Nation, south of Edmonton, will be one of the first to feel the benefits.

Friday morning, after a brief delay for a passing plane, a large drone took to the sky by itself, monitored by a control centre in Toronto — and Chris Quesnel on the ground.

“I do have the controller, and I can take control if need be, but realistically, I don’t,” Quesnel said. “And it flies really autonomously.

“We push takeoff and it runs the route and lands where it should.”

About three years ago, the Edmonton International Airport was the first in North America to test out drones for delivering small packages, from its warehouse to a designated landing pad in Leduc County.

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