Drone delivery in New Town in a few months; rest of Bengal in plan as well
Delivery of commodities via drone will soon become a reality for New Town. Delhi-based Skye Air Mobility Pvt Ltd is partnering with various authorities such as the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) in this venture.
Being air-based, drone delivery reduces time significantly. For example, the company said that it had conducted the world’s longest BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) medicine delivery flight with Flipkart Health of 104 km between Baruipur and Medinipur, reducing the delivery time by 80 per cent. Skye Air Mobility said its drones can deliver packages weighing from 500 g to 50 kg.
The company hopes to start delivery within two to three months and full-fledged operations within six months, a senior company official told the news agency PTI.
He said they would next cover Salt Lake and other areas of Kolkata, before moving on to the rest of Bengal.
Skye Air Mobility has already signed agreements with 10 -12 housing societies in New Town. The separate agreements are needed, according to the official, because the company needs to “create skypods where we drop the packages. These are kind of mailboxes placed in any society”.
