Sep 27, 2024 - Business

Drone deliveries are coming to Charlotte

Joann Muller

Image of a mother and son in the driveway, watching a drone delivery. — Wing is expanding drone delivery to Charlotte early next year. Photo courtesy of Wing

Drone deliveries still seem exotic to many Americans — unless you live in Dallas, which has emerged as the drone capital of the U.S., thanks largely to Walmart.

Soon, Charlotte area residents will also know what it's like.

Driving the news: Wing Aviation, Google's drone delivery unit, has selected the Charlotte metro as its next market, CEO Adam Woodworth tells Axios.

"Our service works really well in dense suburban communities," he says.
The drones should begin service in Charlotte within six months, he says.

The intrigue: Although it's not identifying any customers yet, Wing already has a partnership with Walmart in Dallas, where it has made 30,000 deliveries this year from multiple stores.

Walmart declined to comment, saying for now it continues to focus on optimizing drone delivery with Wing and two other partners in Dallas.

Between the lines: Wing is ready to expand in Charlotte for two reasons, Woodworth says.

North Carolina has already cleared the federal government's required review of the environmental impact of drone deliveries.
Plus, Wing, one of the industry leaders, recently received FAA approval to fly its drones remotely, without human observers, allowing it to scale the service more quickly.

The bottom line: Drone delivery is real, and it's coming to Charlotte soon.

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Drone deliveries are coming to Charlotte

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