Enaire, the state air navigation company, has chosen Palma and Mahon as the two airports for drone plane test flights. These are scheduled for November 2025 and will involve a cargo drone that is completely autonomous.
Raquel Moldes, an engineer from Enaire's Drone Business Development Department, says that the aims are to check on the viability of the route between Palma and Mahon in Menorca, that the flights are safe and that they interfere minimally with the rest of air traffic.
Enaire intends to create a 'vertiport' for vertical takeoff at Son Sant Joan Airport. A decision has yet to be made regarding the choice of drone, but it is thought likely to be one made by the Slovenian company Pipisterl, one of the leading firms in the sector in Europe. Its cargo drones measure around twelve metres long and are designed to carry up to 300 kilograms in an interior space. The maximum load is 1,700 kilograms and they use hybrid motors with an electric battery and travel at a speed of 200 kilometres per hour.
Moldes explains the reasons for choosing Son Sant Joan: "It will allow us to have more control, while an airport like Palma poses a greater challenge for designing routes and approach manoeuvres without interfering with conventional airspace." The drone will fly along the Mallorcan coast a few metres above the sea, so as not to interfere with commercial routes or fly over populated areas.
There will be another test flight between Malaga and Granada. This will be for a drone plane with a pilot and passengers. At present, European Aviation Safety Agency regulations do not allow people to travel in autonomous drones; the presence of a pilot is therefore required.
As to future commercial operations, Moldes points out that, although the technology exists, it will be necessary to have regulations and to ensure both the safety and compatibility with the operations of other aircraft and commercial planes: "There are very ambitious scenarios, but personally I doubt there will be operations before 2030."
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