Alphabet, Wing has become the first drone operator to receive Air Carrier Certification by the Federal Aviation Administration has become the first drone delivery company to get approval to make commercial deliveries in the US.
US Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao described it as an important step forward for the safe testing and integration of drones into our economy.
The approval means that Wing, which has the same parent company as Google, can start making deliveries in Virginia in the coming months, where it plans to deliver goods from local businesses to rural communities in Blacksburg and Christiansburg. Wing will be able to apply for the FAA’s permission to expand to other regions in the future.
The FAA is the second regulator to have given Wing the go-ahead to launch a commercial drone delivery service. Earlier this month, the Australian regulator CASA granted the Alphabet-owned startup the right to make deliveries in Canberra to around 100 homes after the conclusion of a successful 18-month trial that involved 3,000 deliveries.
Competitors could include Amazon’s Prime Air, which has yet to launch a commercial drone delivery service, despite having performed its first public demonstration in the US back in 2017.
