First successful pizza delivery by drone in New Zealand

Domino’s said that it used an unmanned aerial vehicle to deliver two pizzas to a customer at Whangaparaoa, just north of Auckland. The firm’s boss Don Meij, said drones were set to become an essential part of pizza deliveries. “They can avoid traffic congestion and traffic lights, and safely reduce the delivery time and distance by travelling directly to customers’ homes,” he said. “This is the future. 

Today’s successful delivery was an important proof of this concept,” he added. He said that tests would continue at Whangaparaoa this week. “We hope to have all orders being delivered by drone to everyone within the next couple of years,” he added. The two pizzas in question were delivered within just three minutes of flying time, Stuff.co.nz reported online.  “Our partnership with Flirtey grew out of this drive to innovate. Their success within the airborne delivery space has been impressive and we’re proud to have partnered with them on this world first.” 

The two companies spent the last three months working on trials, including food temperature testing, and gaining government approval. New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority signed off on the project. The drone was autonomously controlled by a qualified drone pilot using GPS navigation. Domino’s said it was also examining using drones in Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Japan and Germany. In March, the company unveiled a robot cart being trialled in New Zealand that it claimed was the world’s first driverless pizza delivery vehicle.