Alphabet owned drone firm Wing started first commercial drone delivery in the Christiansburg, Virginia.
With an expanded Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Wing today became the first company to operate a commercial air delivery service via drone directly to homes in the United States.
Wing’s FAA permissions are the first to allow multiple pilots to oversee multiple unmanned aircraft making commercial deliveries simultaneously to the general public, paving the way for the most advanced drone delivery service in the nation.
Wing collaborates with logistics services like FedEx Express, Walgreens, and local Virginia retailer Sugar Magnolia in the United States to offer this form of local air delivery to customers.
FedEx is completing the first scheduled e-commerce drone delivery in American history today and becomes the first logistics company in the United States to connect online retailers to last-mile drone delivery services.
Through this pilot, Walgreens will be the first US retailer to provide customers with on-demand drone deliveries of over-the counter medications and convenience items.
Minutes after our customers order from the Wing app from Walgreens or local Virginia retailer Sugar Magnolia, our lightweight aircraft delivers directly to their homes.
Similarly, customers can opt in to receive scheduled FedEx Express deliveries by drone. Upon arrival, the aircraft gently lowers the package to a small, designated location in the yard or driveway, before returning to Wing’s “Nest” in North Christiansburg.
Wing said the residents of Christiansburg, and the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership for being a part of this moment in aviation history and also thank the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation for making this operation possible.