Drone-delivery business Wing, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), has been granted approval to operate in the skies over Australia.
Named Wing, the company envisions a future where drone delivery is the safest, fastest and most environmentally friendly mode of transport. It hopes that everyone can benefit from the delivery of small items to them in “just minutes, at home, or wherever they may be.” It also aims to reduces traffic congestion and hopes to increase the access to products in rural areas whilst simultaneously relaxing CO2 emissions.
The firm has been testing the delivery of food, beverages and medication for the past year and a half. It has now been granted approval by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Spokesman of the watchdog Peter Gibson said that it had examined drone safety issues, traffic management system, maintenance, pilot training and operational plans, according to the Guardian.
“All those safety issues have been assessed and so there are no risks to people on the ground, property or aircraft in the sky,” he told Guardian Australia.
The drone delivery service has, however, been approved under the conditions that they operate during daylight hours. Moreover, a minimum distance between the drones and the ground has been set in addition to the drones being prohibited from crossing major busy roads.
At the end of last year, drone usage created a considerable amount of controversy in the UK following the events that occurred at Gatwick during the run-up to Christmas.
The Gatwick drone sightings cost EasyJet (LON:EZJ) alone £15 million as it forced the airline to cancel 400 flights over the festive period, having an impact on 82,000 passengers. As the whole of Gatwick stood still, chaos hit the airport and the Christmas plans of many were ruined.
At 17:09 GMT-4 yesterday, shares in Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were trading at -0.26%.
