Malaysia keen on drone delivery service for flood relief assistance

Malaysia is keen on using unmanned drones for delivery service especially in airlifting relief aid to victims in flood-affected areas in the country.

Communication and Multimedia Deputy Minister Datuk Jailani Johari said the idea came to him when a Swiss postal service, Swiss Post Solutions, briefed him on its latest project in using drones for postal delivery.

"This project could be applied in Malaysia in the future such as goods delivery at temporary flood shelters and other important purposes," he told Bernama when contacted on Tuesday.

Jailani is on a six-day working visit to Switzerland since Saturday. The Deputy Minister was fascinated with the company's feat to overcome challenges in collecting data and locations of the people despite the country's mountainous geography.

Jailani said with the cooperation from all quarters, the company had managed to coordinate the information gathered to build its postal flight routes system.

He said the drones could transport loads up to 1kg over 10km. In July, Swiss Post Solutions began testing parcel deliveries by its unmanned drones according to a news portal, The Guardian.

The service is expected to take off in five years time, reported the news portal.