The impact of airspace regulations on unmanned aerial vehicles in last-mile operation

Utilizing autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in the last-mile delivery of parcels is regarded as the ultimate disruptive technology that might significantly reduce the GHG emissions in the freight sector. This study estimates the CO2e emissions for UAVs under different policies compared to diesel and electric ground delivery modes. First, the international UAV flight regulations are synthesized and classified into three groups representing varying degrees of policy strictness. Second, utilizing real-word delivery demand data, full-day parcel-delivery operations of a three-digit postal code area in both urban and rural contexts are simulated for UAVs and ground delivery modes. The results show that in general, UAVs produce significantly lower emissions compared to ground delivery per parcel-km and up to 35% compared to electric vehicles. However, UAV emissions are highly dependent on the fuel mix used in electricity generation. In urban contexts, UAV policy strictness can increase GHG emissions by up to 400%.