Drones
Swiss Post drone transport in the healthcare sector

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Swiss Post drone logistics
Fast, ecological transport

Film: Drone Inselspital Bern

Thanks to drones, transport is more flexible, more eco-friendly and less dependent on traffic levels compared to road-based couriers. A car journey lasting three quarters of an hour becomes a flight of just a few minutes in the uncongested airspace, which means true added value for customers in the healthcare sector and, by extension, their patients. Healthcare consignments in particular are often urgent, and the speed at which they are delivered can be crucial. Drones are a useful supplement to other means of transport, especially in cases where consignments must be delivered urgently or to places that are difficult to reach.

Positive conclusion

Operations demonstrated that drones are well suited to urgent transportation of special items and that there is a clear interest in the service. However, drones are cost-intensive for Swiss Post and cannot be operated profitably in the medium term. For this reason, Swiss Post will hand over its drone project to Matternet at the end of December 2022. As part of its new strategy, Swiss Post is concentrating on logistics solutions in its core business. Despite this result, Swiss Post sees the conclusion to its multi-year drone operations in a positive light. Ultimately, the company has provided valuable, pioneering work for the entire sector and paved the way for the establishment of drone transportation services in Switzerland.

Technical drone information

Taking to the air to serve the healthcare sector
Where Swiss Post drones are deployed

Discover the completed drone projects operated by Swiss Post and its partners.

A map of Switzerland showing the drone projects of Swiss Post and its partners: Zurich, Bern, Lugano.

A first in Switzerland: in 2017, Swiss Post introduced the first drone service for the transport of laboratory samples in Lugano, in collaboration with the Ticino hospital group, EOC. By 2022, more than 2,000 flights had been successfully completed between the Ospedale Italiano and the Ospedale Civico. The drones transport laboratory samples up to 45 minutes faster than road couriers. Operations will be continued by Matternet from 2023.

The university and the university hospital in Zurich from above.

From 2018 to 2022, Swiss Post transported laboratory samples by drone on behalf of University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and the University of Zurich. The route ran from a roof terrace on the north wing of USZ to the University of Zurich at Winterthurerstrasse 190. Where possible, the drones flew over wooded areas.

The drone took about four minutes to cover the two-and-a-half-kilometre stretch. Compared to a courier on the road, the drone was able to travel the route twice as quickly, was more environmentally friendly and was unaffected by traffic volumes.

Flight path (German version) (PDF, 605.7 KB)

A drone in flight over the Inselspital in Bern.

For two weeks in June 2018, Swiss Post trialled the use of drones to transport laboratory samples on behalf of Insel Gruppe. The drones operated between Tiefenau Hospital and the central laboratory at Berne University Hospital.

From June 2018 to spring 2019, Swiss Post transported lab samples high above the basin of Lake Zurich on behalf of Zentrallabor Zürich (ZLZ). The drone linked the ZLZ emergency laboratory at Hirslanden Klinik Im Park with the central laboratory at Forchstrasse 454 in Zollikon. It covered the distance in about seven minutes, reaching its destination up to five times faster than a road courier.