Dee-Ann Durbin
Delivery drones are very fast so you can zip pints of ice cream into the customer’s driveway before they melt.
However, the long-standing technology has slowed off in the US. More than six years after the Federal Aviation Administration approved commercial home delivery with drones, the service has been limited primarily to several suburbs and rural areas.
That could change soon. Last week, the FAA proposed new rules for businesses to easily fly drones outside the operator’s gaze, thus exceeding longer distances. A few companies are doing that now, but they had to get exemptions and certification as an airline to deliver the package.
The rules aim to streamline the process, but certified retailers and drone companies that have tested abundance orders will say they plan to make drone-based delivery available to millions of US households.
Walmart’s multi-stage expansion
Walmart and Wing, a drone company owned by Google Parent Alphabet, currently offers delivery from 18 Walmart stores in the Dallas area. By next summer, they plan to expand to 100 Walmart stores in Atlanta. Charlotte, North Carolina. Houston; Orlando and Tampa, Florida.
After launching a major air delivery service at College Station, Texas in late 2022, Amazon received a FAA permit last year to operate self-driving drones that fly beyond pilots’ gaze. The e-commerce company has since expanded its drone distribution program to suburban Phoenix, with plans to serve in Dallas, San Antonio, Texas and Kansas City.
The concept of drone delivery has been around for over a decade. Zipline, a drone manufacturer that works with the Walmart Arkansas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, began delivering to hospitals in Rwanda in 2016.
However, Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said drone delivery has been in “water mode” for many years, fearing service providers would scale up due to lack of regulatory frameworks.
“We want to be the right moment when there is overlap between customer demand, partner demand, technical preparation and regulatory preparation,” Woodworth said. “I think we’re now at the alignment of that planet.”
Flying ice cream and eggs
Working on both Wing and Flytrex, Doordash tested drone drop-offs in Virginia and Greater Dallas before announcing the expansion to Charlotte. Getting take-out food like this may sound futuristic, but it’s starting to feel normal in Brisbane, a suburb of Australia. There, Doordash has been using delivery drones for several years, says Harrison Shih, who heads the company’s drone program.
“It’s going to be so fast and fly to your neighborhood, but it really feels like a part of everyday life,” Shee said.
Delivery drones are still considered novel, but the cargo they carry can be quite commonplace. Walmart said the country’s largest retailer has top items in its drone delivery, including ice cream, eggs and peanut butter cups of lease, since 2021.
Unlike traditional delivery, where one driver may have a truck full of packages, drones usually offer one small order at a time. Wing’s drones can carry packages weighing up to 2.5 pounds. They can make round trips up to 12 miles. A single pilot can oversee up to 32 drones.
Zipline has a drone that can carry up to 4 pounds and can fly 120 miles round trip. Some drones, like Amazon, can carry heavier packages.
Once placed, the order is packaged for flight and mounted on a drone at the launch site. The drone automatically finds routes to avoid obstacles. The pilot observes the aircraft fly to its destination and cargo is lowered to the ground using a retractable cord.
Risks and rewards for commercial drones
Shakiba Enayati, an assistant professor of supply chain and analysis at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, is studying how drones can speed up providing important health supplies such as donated organs and blood samples. Unmanned aerial vehicles offer several advantages as a transportation method, including reducing emissions and improving access to products for rural residents, Enayati said.
But she also sees many obstacles. Currently, traditional vehicles cost around $13.50 to carry a package per drone, which costs around $13.50 per delivery. Drones require well-trained employees to oversee them and can struggle in certain weather.
Drones can also collide in the air and fall from the sky. But people are embracing the risk of car accidents because they know the benefits of driving, Enayati said. She believes the same can happen with drones, especially since improved technology reduces the chances of error.
Woodworth added that US Airspace is tightly controlled and businesses need to demonstrate to their FAA that drones are safe and reliable. Even under the proposed new rules, the FAA sets detailed requirements for drone operators.
“That’s why it takes time to build a business in a space. But I think that leads to everyone building something fundamentally high quality,” Woodworth says.
Others worry that drones could potentially replace human delivery drivers. Seas thinks that’s unlikely. One of Doordash’s most popular items is 24 packs of water, Shih said.
“I believe drone delivery is pretty ubiquitous and I can cover a lot. I just don’t think I’ll carry you 40 pounds of dog food today,” Sea said.
View from the ground in Texas
Doordash said that in areas that offer drone delivery, orders requiring the service of human delivery drivers will also increase.
This was the experience of John Kim, the owner of Pure Pock Restaurant in Frisco, Texas. Kim signed on last year to provide drone delivery through Doordash. He doesn’t know which percentage of Doordash’s customers choose service rather than regular delivery, but his overall Doordash orders have risen 15% this year.
Kim said he had not heard any complaints from drone delivery customers.
“It’s very stable and maybe better than some of the drivers throwing back on all other orders,” Kim said.
For some people, drones can simply be a nuisance. When the FAA requested public comment on Amazon’s request to expand delivery at the College Station, numerous residents expressed concern that drones using cameras were violating privacy. Amazon says drones use cameras and sensors to navigate and avoid obstacles, but may record over-head videos of people while they complete delivery.
Other residents complained about the noise.
“It sounds like a giant persistent mosquito,” one respondent wrote. Amazon then released a quiet drone.
But others love the service. Janet Toss of Frisco, Texas, said he saw a drone delivery in Korea years ago, wondering why the US didn’t have it. So when Doordash began offering drone delivery in her neighborhood, she was excited.
Toth orders drone delivery several times a month. Her nine-year-old daughter, Julep, said her friends often come over to see the drone.
“I want to go outside, wave with my drone, say ‘Thank you’ and get some food,” Julep Toss said.
Associated video journalist Kendria Lafleur contributed from Frisco, Texas.
Original issue: August 12, 2025, 12:26pm EDT
