Zipline has begun safety tests on its high-performance drones in readiness for the opening of the third and fourth distribution centres.
Since its launch in Ghana, Zipline has safely delivered over 20,000 pints of blood, vaccines and critical medicines to patients across over 350 health facilities through more than 4,000 flights from distribution centres at Omenako and Mpanya.
“Over the next four months, we’ll be opening our third and fourth distribution centres at Vobsi in the North East Region and Sefwi Wiaso in the Western North Region as we expand to serve close to 2,000 health facilities,” Zipline said in a statement, adding “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 drone, which flies further, faster and can carry more medicines.”
“In the coming weeks, we’ll be testing the flight safety features of the new drone, which includes the parachute landing system, before the aircraft enters full service. Yesterday, we conducted just such a successful test from our Mpanya centre,” the statement said.
“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.
“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,” he added.
By Melvin Tarlue