The first drone passengers may be battle casualties and criminals

The first passenger-carrying drones may already be in use. These are not sophisticated urban air taxis, but crudely modified cargo drones that transport battle casualties and criminals.

Heavy-lift drones are essentially scaled-up versions of the well-known quadcopters. Hair-raising videos of hobbyists carried by homemade drones show that the basic technology is simple enough. But meeting aviation safety requirements for passenger transport takes years, and drone manufacturers including Volocopter, EHang and Eve Air Mobility are all aiming to get their vehicles certified this year or next.

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

In Ukraine, medical evacuation of wounded personnel is a major challenge due to the ubiquitous threat of drone strikes. Unmanned ground vehicles – robots remotely controlled by human operators – are the preferred method of casualty transport. In August 2025, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that aerial drones were being tested for the role.

“Such drones will inevitably emerge, as getting a badly wounded soldier to advanced medical care within the ‘golden hour’ dramatically increases the survival rate,” says Roy Gardiner, of the non-profit group Defense Tech for Ukraine. “The development of heavy multicopter drones that can rapidly evacuate wounded soldiers by air is an urgent priority and (these drones) have been reported to be in development by both sides.”

Evacuation with a cargo drone is far from ideal. Helicopter air ambulances have a doctor on board to monitor the patient and keep them stable. But any transport away from the combat zone and into a medical facility can be a lifesaver, and aerial drones will provide a faster and smoother ride than ground robots.

Another group that can use drones for human transport are criminals. A recent report from DroneSec, an Australia-based intelligence company, has noted increased interest in human-carrying drones. The company highlights a video from the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba showing a heavy-lift drone ferrying a passenger short distances at a training camp. The group is already known for smuggling weapons and drugs across the India-Pakistan border.

“These systems can be used for human smuggling … across a secure border wall or barrier,” says Robert Bunker of US consultancy C/O Futures. “The criminals are early innovators and don’t care about drone safety issues, regulations, etc..”

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

“It’s a growing concern, something we need to plan for, especially when it comes to facilities and borders where high walls and other terrain obstacles like rivers and ravines or ditches are seen as secure physical barriers,” says Bunker.

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