Turkey plans digitally defined drone corridors for cargo and medical deliveries

Turkey will create digitally defined airways for drones, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, adding that the legal basis for the corridors, known as drone highways, is in place under the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Instruction (SHT-İHA) that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM) published on 30 July 2026.

The SHGM will set up the corridors with other agencies, defining their boundaries, entry and exit points, flight directions, capacity and minimum separation digitally, so that drone software can read the data directly. The corridors will avoid prohibited, restricted and dangerous areas and zones covered by a NOTAM, and could carry intercity cargo, regular autonomous flights between logistics hubs, and blood, medicines, vaccines and samples between hospitals.

Hobby flights will not be allowed in the corridors. Only pilots with a P2 licence, working for authorised companies with the necessary operational approvals from the SHGM, will be able to fly there, Uraloğlu said.