2024 is the year of e-commerce drone delivery. As a result of action from Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration, large-scale drone delivery is becoming a reality in the United States as drone operators partner with existing brands and retailers to expand pilot programs. InternationallyDrone deliveries are even more popular.
Below is a list of recent developments. Drone Delivery 2024. With regulatory approval and legislative support, drone operators and commercial users will continue to expand their operations.
FAA Expands UTM and BVLOS
Federal Aviation Administration, Commercial Drone Delivery.
For the first time in the United States, Federal Aviation Administration Multiple operators (Zipline and Wing) were authorized to fly commercial drones without visual oversight in the same airspace. Both companies are now able to deliver packages simultaneously while keeping their drones separate using Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) technology. UTM allows for third-party management of airspace under FAA oversight. Through UTM, companies can share data and planned flight routes with other authorized airspace users.
The FAA expects the first UTM flights in the Dallas, Texas area to begin in August, with further approval in the region soon. Using simulations, the companies will begin testing the UTM system beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in the Dallas area in 2023. All flights will occur at altitudes below 400 feet and away from manned aircraft.
–
FAA Reauthorization Bill
U.S. Senate Reauthorization Bill.
In May, President Biden FAA Reauthorization BillThe bill, which received overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress, directs the FAA to establish beyond visual line of sight routes and set up two additional test sites for companies that use unmanned aircraft for package delivery and other tasks, and gives the FAA enforcement authority to prohibit unauthorized or unsafe use of unmanned aircraft systems.
The bill also continues for five years the BEYOND program that began in 2020. The program focuses on working toward operating under established rules rather than exemptions, collecting data to develop performance-based standards, gathering and responding to community feedback, understanding the potential and realized social, economic, and community benefits of drone use, and streamlining the approval process for drone integration.
–
Walmart’s drone delivery integration
Walmart App: Drone delivery integration
Walmart Walmart is expanding drone delivery to its app ordering experience. Walmart is notifying eligible customers in Dallas-Fort Worth of new drone delivery options based on the address associated with their account. The company is completing the integration in stages as more drone delivery sites launch and drone providers receive additional regulatory approvals to fly more items farther.
Earlier this year, Walmart Announced This marks the largest drone delivery expansion by a U.S. retailer, with stores in more than 30 towns and municipalities in the Dallas area. The expansion will enable drone delivery to up to 1.8 million homes, or 75 percent of the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s population. Deliveries will be made by on-demand drone delivery providers Wing and Zipline.
–
Amazon Prime Air: FAA expansion
Amazon Prime Air
The FAA has approved Amazon Prime Air. Additional permissions This will allow drones to operate beyond visual line of sight, allowing drones to serve more customers, effectively expanding and scaling their drone delivery operations. The new licenses and permits will enable Amazon to expand its delivery area in College Station, Texas. The company will expand its operations in College Station to use MK-27 drones to serve customers in more densely populated areas. Later this year, drone delivery will be integrated into Amazon’s delivery network, deployed from facilities adjacent to its same-day delivery hubs.
Amazon has also added drone delivery to the Phoenix metropolitan area, deploying drones from a facility adjacent to its same-day delivery hub in Tolleson. Italy and the UK
–
wing and DoorDash
Wing and DoorDash – Drone delivery pilots
wing After more than five years of commercial delivery experience in Australia and renewed regulatory approval from the government, Wing recently partnered with DoorDash to expand its services to Melbourne, Australia. The change allows a single pilot to monitor up to 50 drones in the air simultaneously, a more than threefold increase. Wing says its approved delivery coverage of Melbourne is the largest in Australia to date, with more than 250,000 residents in the Melbourne area now able to take advantage of drone delivery via the DoorDash app. DoorDash A drone delivery pilot program will begin in Australia in 2022.
DoorDash and Wing launched their drone delivery partnership in the US in March 2024, starting in Christiansburg, Virginia. Wendy’s will be the first restaurant partner, with orders prepared and packed at Wendy’s locations and delivered by Wing’s drones, typically within 30 minutes. The companies said the pilot will be rolled out to other US cities later this year.
In January 2024, Wing New Drones The company’s library of aircraft can carry a standard cardboard shipping box with a payload of up to 5 pounds (twice the weight of the company’s standard drone), has the same 12-mile round-trip range, and can cruise at about 65 miles per hour.
