Drone Delivery Canada receives domestic cargo license

Drone Delivery Canada Corp. (DDC) has become the first publicly traded drone delivery company to be granted a  domestic cargo licence under the Canada Transportation Act (CTA) and Air Transport Regulations (Canada).

This licence, normally issued to airlines that provide passenger or cargo services, is a critical step to the continued expansion and scaling of DDC operations.

The CTA licence is mandatory for any air carrier intending to provide scheduled, commercial air services in Canada, whether carrying cargo or passengers. Obtaining this licence allows DDC to continue developing new drone delivery use cases, as well as the potential expansion of ongoing operations, such as those recently announced for Edmonton International Airport and Fraser Lake, British Columbia.

“The granting of our CTA licence is a key milestone for us…DDC continues to ensure regulatory compliance while at the same time providing critical services to our clients. We are pleased with our continued successful progress on regulations, technology and customer revenue projects as we build our scalable commercial capabilities,” said Michael Zahra, president and CEO of DDC.

Section 61(a)(i) of the CTA requires that, among other things, the company must be able to establish at all times that at least 51 percent of the voting interests of the company are owned and controlled by Canadians. In order to comply with such rule, DDC will seek to amend its documents to incorporate the necessary restrictions, which will be in line with other public Canadian airlines.

In the meantime, DDC has received from the Minister of Transport an exemption from s. 61(a)(i) until June 22, 2022.