New Scientist
Passenger drones may arrive sooner than expected, but not as sleek air taxis. Heavy-lift cargo drones are already edging toward human transport in war zones and criminal networks, where speed matters more than safety or regulation.
Drones could soon be used to carry people
Author: David Hambling
THE first passenger-carrying drones may already be in use. These aren’t sophisticated air taxis, but crudely modified cargo drones, transporting combat casualties and criminals.
Heavy-lift drones are essentially scaled-up versions of the familiar quadcopters. Hair-raising videos of hobbyists carried by home-made drones show the basic technology is simple enough. But meeting aircraft safety requirements for passenger transport takes years, and drone-makers, including Volocopter and Eve Air Mobility, are aiming to get vehicles certified this year or next.
Meanwhile, commercial heavy-lift cargo drones for agricultural and industrial use are rapidly becoming larger and more affordable. The DJI FlyCart 100 that launched last year can carry 85 kilograms and has a list price of just over £10,000. Such drones aren’t certified for passengers, but this may not prevent some operators from transporting people as cargo.
These systems can be used for human smuggling. The criminals are early innovators
In Ukraine, medical evacuation of wounded personnel is a major challenge due to the omnipresent threat of drone attacks. Uncrewed ground vehicles – robots controlled remotely by human operators – are the preferred method for casualty transport. In August 2025, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that aerial drones were being tested for the role.
Another group that may be using drones for human transport is criminals. A recent report by DroneSec, an Australia-based intelligence company, has noted increased interest in human-carrying drones. The company highlights a video from Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba showing a heavy-lift drone ferrying a passenger short distances at a training camp. The group is already known for smuggling arms and drugs across the India-Pakistan border.
“These systems can be used for human smuggling,” says Robert Bunker at US consultancy firm C/O Futures. “The criminals are early innovators and don’t care about drone safety issues, regulations, et cetera.”
Credits: TCA, LLC.