Meituan gets nod for drone food delivery in Jinshan

Credit: Ti Gong

Customers in Shanghai's suburban Jinshan District may soon be able to order food and drinks through drone delivery.

A new commercial unmanned aerial vehicle route has been approved by the East China Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base to allow delivery platform Meituan to provide the service for takeaway orders.

It's expected to serve on-demand delivery within 3 kilometers and around 15 minutes of flying time in the southwestern outskirts of the city.

The East China Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base in the Jinshan Industrial Zone was put into use in 2018, and has already provided test flights and commercial routes for other logistics and delivery firms such as SF and Ele.me.

Credit: Ti Gong

The drone base will designate specific time slots and routes for the takeoff and landing of food delivery drones.

It will also extend the partnership with Meituan to offer test flights for aerial vehicles, research and commercial application, and more routes will be extended in the district.

Meituan's drone delivery trial operation kicked off in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, last year, with Shanghai the second city to welcome such service.