Metro Atlanta drone delivery service takes flight today

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… a bundle of Labubu dolls bolting through the skies of suburban Atlanta! 

Not to be outdone by Waymo’s fresh fleet of driverless vehicles in Atlanta, a partnership between Walmart and tech-powered delivery company Wing is launching human-free, drone-delivery service from six stores in the metro today, in hopes of getting a jump on the holiday season's retail rush. 

It’s the first drone-delivery system to take flight in what officials call a national expansion targeting five major metros and 100 Walmart stores across the U.S. 

Initially, deliveries will be made from six Walmarts in relatively far-flung OTP locales encircling Atlanta, from Woodstock to Conyers and around to Hiram in the far western suburbs. 

The service is designed to help Walmart shoppers “skip metro Atlanta’s notorious traffic” and deliver “household items, groceries, and more [including toys] through the skies in minutes, saving them a long, frustrating trip to the store,” per an announcement provided to Urbanize Atlanta. 

According to project reps, the drones weigh less than 12 pounds and can carry up to 2.3 pounds of goods at once for one-way distances of up to six miles. They’ll zip through the sky at speeds as high as 60 mph. 

Drone deliveries, which lower packages to the ground, are completed in as quickly as 30 minutes. The flights themselves take less than five minutes on average.  

Walmart and Wing reps say the service benefits communities by removing vehicles from roads that spew emissions and create traffic. 

The partnership launched two years ago in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex. 

It’s grown to 19 Walmart Supercenters around that Texas city, delivering thousands of orders per week, according to project leaders. 

Metro Atlantans living near the six stores in question can check their address eligibly and place orders over here—no suited, jolly man and reindeer required.   

For more wonky details, Walmart and Wing provided answers to drone-delivery FAQs today. 

Here’s a sample:

Safety

“Wing’s lightweight delivery drones are among the safest ways to transport goods,” per the companies. “Reliability Wing’s drone delivery system was designed for the complexity of residential neighborhoods, safely navigating a world of backyards, power lines, and other unexpected obstacles.” 

Privacy

“Wing’s drones are equipped with camera sensors used primarily to assist with navigation and to help ensure the safety and reliability of our operations. There is no live feed of images to anyone, including the certified pilots supervising flights.” 

FAA Permissions 

“Wing holds a Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate through the FAA, a similar level of certification as many cargo airliners.”

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