Helsinki is piloting drone deliveries of medical supplies along a seven-kilometre route from Kyläsaari to the Laajasalo Health Station. The flights will operate between 29 October and 7 November 2025, several times a day on weekdays. Weather conditions may affect flight times, and the experiment will end no later than 14 November.
“This is the first time Helsinki has operated regular drone flights over such a long distance. It will be interesting to see how this works in practice, as the potential is enormous. We’ve already learned a great deal about organising the flights and the challenges that arise during preparations,” says Senior Project Manager Renske Martijnse-Hartikka from the city’s innovation company Forum Virium Helsinki. Martijnse-Hartikka leads the EU-funded CITYAM project, under which the test flights are being conducted.
The goal of the pilot is to explore how drones could be used in logistics and in strengthening security of supply – both in everyday operations and in exceptional or crisis situations.
The City of Helsinki’s Construction Services, Stara, has equipped a base in Kyläsaari from which the drone flights are launched and controlled. The drones also transport products from Stara’s logistics centre.
“Drones represent a new mode of transport with plenty of potential. In dense, busy cities, aerial transport can make deliveries smoother and improve the city’s overall functioning. This new pilot is a very interesting opportunity and will provide us with valuable insights,” says Sami Aherva, Head of the Logistics Unit at Stara.
Gaining experience in the logistics of the future
The drone used for the November test flights has a wingspan of 2.6 metres and can carry up to three kilograms of cargo at an altitude of 60–100 metres. It transports everyday health care supplies such as masks, gloves and disinfectant. In the future, drones could be used to transport not only supplies but also samples or even organ transplants.
“This is an interesting experiment for us, as it gives us practical experience of a new and increasingly important delivery method. The pilot will also provide us with guidelines for developing goods logistics and for preparing for possible disruptions and exceptional situations,” says Ari Lallo, Transport and Logistics Manager at the Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division.
The flights are operated with a permit granted by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom and under the continuous supervision of a human operator based in Helsinki.
The pilot is a collaboration between Stara, the City of Helsinki’s Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division, and the city’s innovation company Forum Virium Helsinki. The flights are operated by the Norwegian company Aviant(Link leads to external service) , which conducts similar flights in other Nordic countries.
The pilot is part of the international CITYAM project(Link leads to external service) , which promotes the responsible use of drones in six cities with support from Interreg Baltic Sea Region.
