Astral Aviation (8V, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has established a new subsidiary to handle the Kenyan freight specialist's expansion into the drone niche market both at home and in Rwanda.

Airline CEO Sanjeev Gadhia told Business Daily Africa that Astral Aerial Solutions would, among other things, develop a drone hub at Kapese Airstrip in the oil-rich Lokichar basin to cater to the petroleum industry's logistical needs. The opening is expected to occur early next year.

Astral Aerial Solutions will employ a fleet of FlyOx I amphibian drones, manufactured by Singular Aircraft, which can haul up to two tonnes of equipment over 1,200kilometres. It will also acquire a fleet of surveillance drones to monitor the movement of crude oil shipments between Kapese and Eldoret, he said.

The Kenyan and Rwandan civil aviation authorities have become the first regulators in the Central and East African region to embrace drone technology. Both have already begun to put in place the relevant legislation to govern the use of the machines on nationwide, commercial scale.