Anac authorizes the use of drones for routes of up to three kilometers, for loads of up to 2.5 kg across the country
iFood, in partnership with Speedbird Aero, is the first company in the Americas authorized to make deliveries using drones, or RPAs (Remotely Piloted Aircraft), throughout Brazilian territory.
This authorization, granted by Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) for daily commercial use, it is unprecedented in the market and on the continent. With it, drones are authorized to make deliveries with loads of up to 2.5 kilos within a radius of 3 kilometers, including in urban environments, maintaining safety margins established in the project.
“It is a unique achievement for Brazil. This is a historic milestone in aviation, but also in the development of society. It is the beginning of a change that will speed up deliveries with the use of air transport on part of the routes”, says Fernando Martins, head of logistics and innovation at iFood.
This is because drones only make part of the journey: they take orders to a droneport (a specific and safe area for drones to land and take off), where they are collected by an iFood delivery partner who completes the delivery by transporting them to the door. of customers.
iFood has been testing the modal since 2020, and was the first foodtech to deliver via drones with approvals from competent bodies throughout Latin America. All drone operations are carried out by Speedbird, by qualified professionals prepared for the airworthiness of drones, in a safe manner.
Its first Experimental Flight Authorization Certificate (Cave) was obtained that year, for experimental flights at Shopping Iguatemi in Campinas (SP). In this test, more than 300 deliveries were made, involving more than 20 partner restaurants in the region.
At the end of 2021, the route between two different cities was tested for the first time, between Aracaju and Barra dos Coqueiros. The drone crossed the Sergipe River from Shopping RioMar Aracaju and traveled 2.8 kilometers to Barra dos Coqueiros. Dodging traffic in the capital of Sergipe, the journey by air took 5 minutes 20 seconds, compared to the estimated 25 to 55 minutes for the land journey.
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