Supermarket giants in the United Arab Emirates contemplate drone delivery services.

Autonomous Drone Deliveries Take Flight in Abu Dhabi

In a significant stride for the future of delivery services, the first pilot flight for autonomous drone parcel deliveries was successfully conducted in Abu Dhabi. The groundbreaking event was undertaken by aviation-tech firm LODD in partnership with 7X, with the logistics and express delivery arm EMX also involved.

The historic test flight took place in Khalifa City, marking a major milestone in the UAE's ongoing efforts to embrace advanced aerial systems for serving communities at scale. Omran Malek, Head of SAVI Cluster at Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), expressed his excitement, stating that this development marks a significant step towards enabling autonomous drone delivery in Abu Dhabi.

The autonomous drone delivery service, provided by Chinese company Keeta Drone, has already made its mark in Dubai. Currently, Keeta Drone's drone deliveries are limited to Dubai Silicon Oasis, with a coverage radius of 2.9 kilometres. The delivery fee for each order within this area is Dh9.5, which remains consistent with traditional delivery methods.

Keeta Drone's service is not limited to grocery delivery, as demonstrated by the first pilot flight in Abu Dhabi. In fact, many ecommerce marketplaces and delivery companies are competing in the Q-commerce (quick-commerce) space in the UAE, providing delivery within a 15- to 30-minute window.

The active support of ADIO was instrumental in the first pilot flight for autonomous drone parcel deliveries in Abu Dhabi. The organization is working diligently within the SAVI cluster to develop infrastructure, regulation, and partnerships to move from experimentation to real-world integration of drone deliveries.

Emirates Post and DP World are among the companies in the United Arab Emirates interested in implementing drone truck deliveries. Another leading supermarket chain in the UAE is also considering drone-based deliveries, with Lulu, a hypermarket operator, considering launching drone-based grocery and other deliveries in Dubai. However, any decision to launch commercial drone-based delivery by Lulu requires approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The feasibility studies for Lulu's drone delivery service have begun, and Lulu has become the first recipient of UAE's Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) license, allowing drone deliveries. The first test flight for autonomous drone parcel deliveries in Abu Dhabi used a secure winch-based delivery system.

As the UAE continues to push the boundaries of technology and innovation, the efforts towards real-world integration of drone deliveries are expected to result in outcomes that will be visible in the UAE's air and at doorsteps. The future of delivery in the UAE is undoubtedly taking flight.

Supermarket giants in the United Arab Emirates contemplate drone delivery services.