The first passengers of the drone can be combat victims and criminals

The first passenger drones may already be in use. These are not sophisticated urban air taxis, but crudely modified cargo drones carrying combat victims and criminals.

Heavy-lift drones are essentially scaled-up versions of familiar quadcopters. Hair videos of hobbits carried by homemade drones show that the underlying technology is simple enough. However, meeting the safety requirements of passenger aircraft takes years, including for drone manufacturers Volocopter, EHang and Eve Air Mobilitythey all aim to get the vehicles certified this year or next.

Meanwhile, commercial heavy-duty drones for agricultural and industrial use are rapidly becoming larger and more affordable. Launched last year, the DJI FlyCart 100 can carry 85 kilograms and has a list price of just over £10,000. Such drones are not certified for passengers, but that may not stop some operators from carrying people as cargo.

In Ukraine, medical evacuation of injured personnel is a major concern due to the ever-present threat of drone attacks. Unmanned ground vehicles – robots controlled remotely by a human operator – are the preferred method for transporting the injured. In August 2025, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi he said aerial drones were being tested for the role.

“Such drones will inevitably emerge because getting a severely injured soldier to advanced medical care during the ‘golden hour’ dramatically increases survival rates,” he says. Roy Gardiner, with the Defense Tech non-profit group for Ukraine. “The development of heavy multicopter drones that could rapidly evacuate wounded soldiers by air is an urgent priority. [these drones] both sides said developments are underway.’

Evacuation by cargo drone is far from ideal. Helicopter air ambulances have a doctor on board to monitor and stabilize the patient. But any transport away from a combat zone and into a medical facility could be a lifesaver, and aerial drones make for a faster, smoother ride than ground-based robots.

Another group that can use drones to transport people are criminals. Recent DroneSec reportAustralian news company, has seen increased interest in drones carrying people. The company highlights a video from the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba that shows a heavy-duty drone carrying a passenger short distances in a training camp. The group is already known for smuggling weapons and drugs across the India-Pakistan border.

“These systems can be used to smuggle people … across a secure border wall or barrier,” he says Robert Bunker in the American consulting company C/O Futures. “Criminals are early innovators and don’t care about drone safety issues, regulations and so on.”

Small drones are already widely used to smuggle contraband into prisons. Larger versions could pull out prisoners. They could also transport armed terrorists to secure areas.

“It’s a growing interest, something we have to plan for, especially for facilities and state borders where high walls and other terrain obstacles like rivers and canyons or ditches are considered safe physical barriers,” says Bunker.

Commercial passenger drones will have many safety features and will be thoroughly tested in all conditions before being put into service. But for those desperate enough for transportation regardless of the risk, drone flights will likely be a reality in the very near future.

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