Icelandic ecommerce company offers delivery by drone

Aha, the largest online marketplace of Iceland, has partnered with the Israeli drone company Flytrex to expand its delivery options. By using the drone delivery system, Aha can now deliver goods between two parts of the city of Reykjavik that are separated by a wide river.

Deploying the drones from Flytrex will dramatically cut delivery times and costs. Normally, Aha had to drive goods all around a large bay to reach certain addresses in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Now it uses drones which use a single route going over the bay. An AHA worker will launch for example an takeout order at a drone hub near the restaurant, while another removes it a second hub near the customer and then walks or bikes the delivery to its destination. In the near future, Aha will deliver orders with drones that outfitted with wires that lower the deliveries into the customer’s backyard.

The drone, which carriers parcels up to three kilograms, can do in 4 minutes what a car would do in 25 minutes in heavy traffic. For now, the system is doing one delivery at a time, but multiple deliveries are possible.

It’s not a temporary pilot project

Aha emphasizes the drone delivery service is not a pilot project, but a permanent service offered by the Icelandic online marketplace. Flytrex and Aha received regulatory approval from the Icelandic Transport Authority to deliver food and consumer products from shops and restaurants to customers in Reykjavik.