The newly revised Civil Aviation Law, which took effect on July 1, 2026, includes the "low-altitude economy" in national legal texts for the first time. Airspace below 300 meters is subject to classified and hierarchical management, with some of the previous "case-by-case approval" processes replaced by a filing system. Two months later, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced the eighth batch of new professions, adding "low-altitude logistics worker" as a trade under "logistics service specialist". As of 2025, the number of registered UAVs nationwide has reached 3.287 million.
The two seem to be moving in the same direction but actually share the same origin. Domestic policies address "industrial legitimacy" but have yet to resolve "commercial viability". EHang, the world's only passenger-carrying eVTOL company with all "four certificates", voluntarily withdrew its full-year revenue guidance in August 2026—it achieved only 17.3% of its annual target in the first half of the year, while accounts receivable doubled over the same period.
The buzz is not just about documents. Over the East China Sea, UAVs delivering parcels across the sea in Zhoushan Putuo have been flying for over a year.
Miaozi Lake at Dawn
At the logistics service point in Miaozihu, Dongji Island, the lights were on before daybreak. Staff loaded freshly packaged catches into the UAV cargo hold, the propellers spun up, and it flew towards the main island of Zhoushan. At the same time, at the Taohua Island dock, farmers were loading oxygenated large yellow croakers onto the passenger-cargo-mail ferry.
These parcels ultimately converge at the Shenjiamen Express Logistics Joint Distribution Center, where they are scanned, weighed, labeled, and loaded into refrigerated trucks for delivery to various places. Wang Yang, a SF Express courier, noted that large yellow croakers collected from Taohua Island after 6:00 a.m. can reach Hangzhou 12 hours later. Three years ago, these islands were still at the last mile of express delivery; now, during peak periods, he receives nearly 80 parcels from the small islands in a single day.
22 Stations, 33 Routes
Putuo has over 740 islands of various sizes, with 45 inhabited small islands. In the past, boats were the only access, sailing once every three days. They would suspend operations directly in strong winds, making it common for parcels to be delayed for a week.
The change began with revitalizing existing assets. The district transformed the existing three-tier logistics nodes for passenger, cargo, and mail into "multi-functional" comprehensive service stations, totaling 22, equipped with UAV take-off and landing facilities—this move reduced the construction cost of a single take-off and landing site from CNY 500,000 to CNY 50,000. Relying on this network, Putuo has opened 33 low-altitude logistics routes, with an average of over 38 UAV sorties per day and a cumulative total of over 16,000 orders.
Routes can only sustain operations if the math works out. Ding Jian, a courier on Dengbu Island, recalled that when express delivery first reached the island, there were only 5 parcels a day, with a delivery cost of CNY 10 per parcel; now, with nearly 300 parcels daily, the cost has dropped to CNY 2.5. From the perspective of the entire district, logistics costs have decreased by 77.5%, and the delivery frequency to remote islands has increased by more than 5 times.
The 15% of Seafood Leaving the Islands
Freshness equals price. Yuan Xiliang, head of the Putuo District Joint Distribution Center, provided a figure: UAVs account for 15% of the seafood shipped out from the four islands of Taohua, Dengbu, Mayi, and Dongji.
It should be noted that the delivery of swimming crabs covering 138 cities nationwide and driving 1.27 million pieces of fishery and agricultural products off the islands annually is the overall achievement of the "land-sea-air" passenger-cargo-mail system, with UAVs responsible for the speed-up segment. During the peak season of the partial opening of the fishing ban in August, the peak daily shipment of crabs in Putuo can reach 50,000 orders and 250 tons, a volume that UAVs alone cannot handle.
One Network, Four Tasks
Low-altitude operations in Putuo are not just about delivering parcels. The oil product commercial inspection route from Dongbailian to Liuheng to the main island has reduced the inspection delivery time from 1.5 days to 45 minutes, completing a cumulative total of 246 orders; delivering daily supplies to crew members at the port area anchorage has shortened a 4-hour journey to 30 minutes, completing 446 orders. Emergency medicines and blood samples use 2 emergency dedicated lines, reducing delivery time from 1 hour to 25 minutes. The "aerial coffee" in Dongji has flown a cumulative 1,177 sorties, ironically becoming a check-in attraction for tourists.
From 33 to 41
On October 8, the joint island pilot of the "Pioneer Flight Zone" for the low-altitude economy in Zhejiang Province, led by Putuo and jointly built with Daishan and Shengsi, passed acceptance. The latest information shows: 22 UAV take-off and landing sites, 11 helicopter helipads, 41 approved low-altitude routes, equipped with 21 operational UAVs, and the district-level comprehensive service platform has entered trial operation.
41 and 33 do not conflict. The 33 routes are for logistics, while the 41 routes encompass four scenarios: inter-island logistics, maritime services, island cultural tourism, and emergency rescue. Looking at the whole city, Zhoushan plans to layout 65 UAV take-off and landing sites from 2024 to 2026, with a cumulative 59 approved and opened routes totaling 1,470 kilometers, including 2 cross-city routes.
Final Thoughts
Whether it can remain stable during the typhoon season, whether the cost per parcel can be further reduced, and whether cross-island routes can sustain themselves without subsidies—these three issues currently have no answers. Putuo is already testing the "Taohua Island - Main Island - Shanghai" cross-regional route, aiming to deliver large yellow croakers directly to Shanghai.
Passing the acceptance only indicates that the road has been built. Whether this road can be run in the long term depends on the order volume in the next two years.