For the first time in the Netherlands, medical drone flights have been carried out between two hospital sites over the course of a year. The trial has provided valuable insights into the transport of medical supplies by drone and the safe integration of these flights into Dutch airspace.
Following more than 800 flights between Isala Meppel and Isala Zwolle, the pilot has been extended until mid-2027. The knowledge gained by LVNL and the parties involved – the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, ANWB, Isala and KPN – will be used for the further development of a national drone network, in which the use of medical drones will become more widespread.
The pilot began in September 2025 and has yielded the following results:
- A fixed flight route of 22 kilometres between Isala Meppel and Isala Zwolle
- An average flight duration of 14 minutes
- An operational availability of 92–95 per cent
- Transport of various medical supplies, including paracetamol, refrigerated medication and blood samples.
- Transport by medical drone has no significant impact on the quality of the medicines examined
- Practical experience with the integration of medical drones into Dutch airspace
Learning through practice
Over the course of a year and across all seasons, the route between Meppel and Zwolle served as a practical testing ground for medical drone operations. The operational data show that strong winds, in particular, are a limiting factor for the deployment of drones. As a result, flights had to be postponed or cancelled on some days. Experience was also gained regarding technical issues, such as temporary disruptions to GPS systems and condensation forming in sensors.
Maartje van der Helm (General Manager Performance & Development): “A key objective of the pilot is to conduct extensive testing with so-called Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights, in which the drone operates out of the pilot’s line of sight. These flights take place in airspace that is also used by, amongst others, air ambulance and police helicopters, recreational aviation, the Ministry of Defence and other drone operators. This is a new way of flying and makes scaling up drone use in airspace a challenge.”
A valuable step towards the integration of drones into airspace
With the extension of the pilot scheme, tests will also be carried out within the existing temporary airspace corridor (TGB) to determine how drones will be able to operate safely in an environment where – subject to strict conditions – other air traffic will also be present. This is an important step towards the future integration of drones into regular airspace.
“For LVNL, this provides valuable practical experience for the further development of the Common Information Service (CIS), the national information platform for the safe integration of the growing number of drones in our airspace. The trial also offers important insights into detect-and-avoid technology: the ability of drones to detect other air traffic in good time and respond accordingly,” said Maartje van der Helm. “All of this helps to further refine processes, information flows and collaboration, and contributes to the safe and efficiently conducted deployment of drones on a larger scale in the Netherlands.”
Trial ground for the future
The route between Meppel and Zwolle has developed into an important test environment for medical drone transport in the Netherlands. Tests carried out along the route include those relating to electronic visibility, detection systems, transponders and radar integration. The knowledge gained provides the parties involved with valuable insights and contributes to the development of future regulations, operational procedures and technological solutions for the wider and large-scale deployment of drones in the Netherlands.
