SF Express debuts drone delivery to HK islands

The Hong Kong unit of Shenzhen-based SF Express and Phoenix Wings (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of SF Group, launched Hong Kong’s first drone delivery route to the outlying islands the day before yesterday, marking the first time an unmanned aircraft has carried cargo across the sea to one of Hong Kong’s outlying islands. 

SF Express staff load medical supplies onto a drone at Cyberport ahead of its inaugural delivery flight to Hong Kong’s outlying islands yesterday. China News Service 

The 12-kilometer flight from Cyberport to Cheung Chau takes about 20 minutes, more than 60% faster than the ferry, and is dedicated to transporting medical supplies such as pharmaceuticals, laboratory specimens, and small medical equipment. Operators say the service offers an innovative logistics solution for communities on the outlying islands that have long been constrained by sea-based delivery schedules.

“To date, our drones have completed over 40 beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights, many with cargo on board,” said Feng Li, chairman and CEO of Phoenix Wings. “Throughout testing, the aircraft remained stable, communications were uninterrupted, and operations met every safety benchmark.”

The launch fits with the Hong Kong government’s push for a low-altitude economy, using unmanned aircraft to ease transport bottlenecks to remote districts.

Mak Sze-man, an emergency doctor at Cheung Chau Hospital, said a drone can cut a 45- to 60-minute ferry journey to about 20 minutes. “If a patient needs antivenom, we have had to helicopter the victim to Pamela Youde or Queen Mary. With a drone, we could fly the serum in and keep the patient on the island,” Mak noted.

Phoenix Wings began developing logistics UAVs in 2015 and secured the country’s first drone airline licence from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in 2018. The company now conducts regular cross-city and cross-sea operations in Wuhan, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, averaging roughly 20,000 daily deliveries across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Operators say the Cheung Chau route is a first step toward wider low-altitude logistics services for Hong Kong’s islands.