Merlin Labs to launch world-first autonomous flights in NZ by end of 2026
Tuesday, 3 February 2026
US-based Merlin Labs, which is testing autonomous flights in Kerikeri, says it is just months away from being able to launch its robot pilot service in New Zealand.
Merlin Labs is headquartered in Boston and set up operations in Kerikeri in 2023 after first identifying opportunities in the country in 2020.
The company, which also has an office in Auckland, is not in the business of making money out of flying planes, but rather is a software development company that hopes in the long-term to make sales of its software to military, commercial airlines and other aviation companies.
It is developing technology it calls the Merlin Pilot ‒ autonomous pilot software that can be retrofitted into legacy aircraft.
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Private equity funded and about to go public on the US stock exchange in the next month, the company has raised equity in the region of US$200 million since inception in 2018.
Merlin Labs’ chief pilot Luke Flemington, a former New Zealand Air Force pilot, told The Post the company was currently testing its autopilot technology in freight flights and expected to launch a commercial freight operation flown by an autonomous pilot in New Zealand as a world first.
It plans to roll out the technology more widely early next year. Once it has secured Civil Aviation (CA) certification it will work through pricing to build and install it on aircraft.
The company was drawn to New Zealand to develop and test its technology due to the country’s relatively progressive aviation regulations. While robust, they were less restrictive than those in the US, he said.
“The regulatory environment here in New Zealand is very conducive to the testing and research and development that we want to do. The empty air space as well and generally, the technical expertise is good here as well, so New Zealand is a fantastic place for us to develop and test the product,” Flemington said.
“We're aiming for certification by the end of this year, which is an ambitious goal. I’ve had long meetings with the CA, and the phrase is it's a success-based strategy, so everything has to go right to meet that target this year.”
The freight runs were to “establish ourselves as an airline entity, whereby we can operate freight using the unmodified aircraft”.
Once the company achieved certification, it planned to build out the operation until it could “achieve the headline of doing a commercial freight operation within an autonomous aircraft”.
Flemington said the company’s work was aimed at solving the issue of pilot shortages, which, over time, would allow aircraft to fly with less ‒ or without ‒ physical pilots.
“It's very much we like the phrase ”crawl, walk, fly“ or ”crawl, walk, run“ … initially, it's going to be like an enhanced autopilot, and then we'll look to reduce crew numbers. But ultimately, the goal is to be a fully autonomous pilot in some sectors,” he said.
Reducing crew numbers was also a long-term aim for passenger planes.
“I don't think you're going to be climbing onto an Air New Zealand plane with no pilots any time soon, but you might climb onto a long haul flight in years to come where there are a reduced number of pilots,” Flemington said.
“There's some hurdles to overcome, probably not least of which is public opinion. Most people probably don't want to get into an aircraft that doesn't have any pilots, but I think most people would be happy to get into an aircraft that has a reduced number of pilots.
“A typical Air New Zealand flight to LA, for example, has four pilots on board. If we can reduce that to two, the cost saving is huge for the airline.
“There's a worldwide shortage of pilots and as aviation looks to grow, they can't just magically produce them, but the technology exists now for us to try and mitigate that problem.”
Flemington said he estimated the industry was five to 10 years away from flying with reduced pilots on commercial being mainstream.
Merlin has been operating locally for four years. It has 35 employees and its local operations are led by chief executive Grant Crenfeldt, a Kiwi who previously worked as head of engineering for Air New Zealand.
The company has four aircraft in New Zealand ‒ three Cessna 208 Caravans and 1 Cessna 206 ‒ and has a contract with the United States Air Force to put Merlin Pilot into its C130J and the KC135 freight and refueller aircraft.
Flemington said Merlin was looking to work with the New Zealand Air Force to help with its maritime surveillance efforts.