FAA Part 135 carrier

UPS Flight Forward

UPS's drone airline, flying Matternet aircraft. It holds a standard Part 135 certificate from 2019. The FAA records its first flights in September 2019 at WakeMed in Raleigh, NC. Environmental reviews are signed for The Villages FL, Winston-Salem NC and Columbus OH.

DroneParent: UPSOperations began (primary source)

Research snapshotVerified Oct 22, 2026

Dated FAA approvals: 4Part 135 certificate and final environmental decisions.
Draft reviews pending: 0FAA environmental reviews with no final decision yet.
Places named in sources: 4Cities, metros or regions tied to it by a dated source.
Places where operations began: 1A source says service started. That does not confirm daily service today.

Approvals and drafts: FAA Part 135 page updated Sep 3, 2026FAA environmental review page updated Oct 14, 2026. Places are counted from the coverage records below, each with its own source.

FAA approvals over time

2019 to 2026

4dated approvals naming UPS Flight Forward

Each step is a Part 135 certificate or a final FAA environmental decision. Hover or focus a point for its source.

Show the data behind this chart (4 rows)

Date	Operator	Event	Kind	Source
Mar 30, 2023	UPS Flight Forward	UPS Flight Forward Columbus, OH finding of no significant impact	Final environmental decision	FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
Dec 23, 2022	UPS Flight Forward	UPS Flight Forward Winston-Salem, NC finding of no significant impact	Final environmental decision	FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
Nov 18, 2022	UPS Flight Forward	UPS Flight Forward The Villages, FL finding of no significant impact	Final environmental decision	FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
2019	UPS Flight Forward	UPS Flight Forward Part 135 air carrier certificate	Part 135 certificate	FAA Part 135 page(opens in a new tab) updated Sep 3, 2026

Where sources place UPS Flight Forward

Full map

4places named in sources

Operating, reported or pilot
Permitted
Announced

Points are city or metro centers named in sources, not facilities.

Timeline

Milestones

Dated FAA documents and primary sources that name this company, oldest first.

5 dated events

2019 to 2023

2019
UPS Flight Forward Part 135 air carrier certificate
2019Part 135 certificateFAA Part 135 page(opens in a new tab) updated Sep 3, 2026
Sep 2019
Operations began, Raleigh, NC
First flights (WakeMed)Operations began (primary source)FAA Part 135 page(opens in a new tab) updated Sep 3, 2026
Nov 18, 2022
UPS Flight Forward The Villages, FL finding of no significant impact
Nov 18, 2022Final environmental decisionFAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
Dec 23, 2022
UPS Flight Forward Winston-Salem, NC finding of no significant impact
Dec 23, 2022Final environmental decisionFAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
Mar 30, 2023
UPS Flight Forward Columbus, OH finding of no significant impact
Mar 30, 2023Final environmental decisionFAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026

Metrics

Figures reported for this company

1 figure in 1 group, each with its source type, link and date. Values appear as published.

FAA approval

1 figure

Part 135 certificate date
U.S.
September 2019
Verify against FAA package delivery page
Secondary source, pending FAA checkflightbrief.news(opens in a new tab)Sep 20, 2026

Status

Six dimensions, each sourced and dated

Solid cards have a source for the value shown. Dashed means unknown: no source settles it yet.

What counts as confirmed

Announced
Publicly proposed or planned
Yes
Proposal on file with FAA
Event date not stated
FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
Permitted
Certificate, FONSI or city permit
Yes
Part 135 certificate
Effective 2019
Most recent site review: Columbus FONSI, Mar 30, 2023.
FAA Part 135 page(opens in a new tab) updated Sep 3, 2026
Operating
Deliveries actually happening
Yes
First flights, Raleigh
Effective Sep 2019
First flights in September 2019 at WakeMed, Raleigh. Current activity is unknown.
Start date onlyStale, 2608 days
FAA Part 135 page(opens in a new tab) updated Sep 3, 2026
No source yetPilot · trial or limited test servicePaused · temporarily stoppedEnded · shut down or exited
As of Oct 22, 2026

Coverage

Places (4)

Open in coverage matrix

UPS Flight Forward status by place
Place	Announced	Permitted	Pilot	Operating	Paused	Ended	Sources
Raleigh, NCWakeMedBegan ops	YesNamed in FAA documents	YesPart 135 certificate2019	Unknown	YesFirst flights (WakeMed)Sep 2019Start date onlyStale, 2608 days	Unknown	Unknown	FAA Part 135 page(opens in a new tab) updated Sep 3, 2026
Winston-Salem, NCPermitted	YesProposal on file with FAA	YesFONSI signedDec 23, 2022	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
The Villages, FLPermitted	YesProposal on file with FAA	YesFONSI signedNov 18, 2022	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
Columbus, OHPermitted	YesProposal on file with FAA	YesFONSI signedMar 30, 2023	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026

Raleigh, NC
WakeMed
Began ops
Announced
YesNamed in FAA documents
Permitted
YesPart 135 certificate2019
Operating
YesFirst flights (WakeMed)Sep 2019
Start date onlyStale, 2608 days
Unknown
Pilot, Paused, Ended
FAA Part 135 page(opens in a new tab) updated Sep 3, 2026
Winston-Salem, NC
Permitted
Announced
YesProposal on file with FAA
Permitted
YesFONSI signedDec 23, 2022
Unknown
Pilot, Operating, Paused, Ended
FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
The Villages, FL
Permitted
Announced
YesProposal on file with FAA
Permitted
YesFONSI signedNov 18, 2022
Unknown
Pilot, Operating, Paused, Ended
FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
Columbus, OH
Permitted
Announced
YesProposal on file with FAA
Permitted
YesFONSI signedMar 30, 2023
Unknown
Pilot, Operating, Paused, Ended
FAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026

Government

Documents (4)

Document library

FONSI · Mar 30, 2023
UPS Flight Forward Columbus, OH finding of no significant impactFAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
FONSI · Dec 23, 2022
UPS Flight Forward Winston-Salem, NC finding of no significant impactFAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
FONSI · Nov 18, 2022
UPS Flight Forward The Villages, FL finding of no significant impactFAA environmental review page(opens in a new tab) updated Oct 14, 2026
Part 135 certificate · 2019
UPS Flight Forward Part 135 air carrier certificateFAA Part 135 page(opens in a new tab) updated Sep 3, 2026

Registrations

Public identifiers (0)

All registrations

No public identifiers on file yet

Certificate numbers, exemption dockets, type certificates and N-numbers appear here only when an issuer publishes them, with a link to that record.

News

Stories about this company

No news stories yet

No story in the news dataset is tagged with this operator yet.

Approvals and markets

FAA approvals over time

Where sources place UPS Flight Forward

Milestones

5 dated events

Figures reported for this company

FAA approval

Six dimensions, each sourced and dated

Announced

Permitted

Operating

Places (4)

Documents (4)

Public identifiers (0)

No public identifiers on file yet

Stories about this company

No news stories yet

Approvals and markets

FAA approvals over time

Where sources place UPS Flight Forward

Milestones

5 dated events

Figures reported for this company

FAA approval

Six dimensions, each sourced and dated

Announced

Permitted

Operating

Places (4)

Documents (4)

Public identifiers (0)

No public identifiers on file yet

Stories about this company

No news stories yet