Overview
- DoorDash announced Wednesday that it has new drone division DoorDash Air after receiving a Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, which permits commercial drone operations.
- The program is being built inside DoorDash Labs and includes purpose-built aircraft plus the ground infrastructure needed for merchant handoffs and maintenance.
- DoorDash will run its drones on the same app and network as human drivers and its Dot sidewalk robots using an Autonomous Delivery Platform that decides which delivery mode to dispatch.
- The company says commercial flights are targeted for fall 2026 but initial operations will be limited and broader autonomous or long-range flights require further FAA approvals such as beyond-visual-line-of-sight clearance.
- DoorDash will keep partnerships with operators like Wing and Flytrex active, and the company says drone routing could shorten midrange orders of roughly three to five miles while freeing human couriers for shorter runs.