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If you are a resident of Fresco (housing society), Gurugram's Nirwan Country or two other societies in the city, chances are your parcels being sent by logistics company BlueDart are being delivered by drone. .
National Capital Region-based startup Skye Air has tied up with DHL Group's BlueDart for drone-assisted delivery. Deliveries began a few weeks ago, and SkyAir CEO Ankit Kumar estimates that using drones has been able to reduce delivery times from 1 hour to 7-8 minutes using traditional methods. Is.
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“We fly from Sector 70-71 in Gurugram. We have our hub in that area. The drone takes off from there, it goes to a port (skypod), which is in a residential complex. We have three Societies have enabled Skypods. For BlueDart now,” Kumar told MoneyControl.
Keeping in view the current heat wave in the NCR region, where the temperature has touched 50 degrees Celsius, the drones fly between 6 am and 11 am, Kumar added. “We don't fly between 11 am and 6 pm,” Kumar said.
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Skye Pods are containers installed for last-mile delivery crews to collect and deliver to the customer's doorstep.
After a parcel is dropped off at a SkyePod installed in these societies, a delivery person employed by the startup (which they call “Skyewalkers”) delivers it to the customer's apartment.
Sky Air is taking advantage of “green zones” in Gurugram for in-delivery. These areas include places like Golf Course Extension, SPR, New Gurugram, Dwarka Expressway, Sector 50 (where Fresco is located).
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In India's drone ecosystem, “green zones” refer to areas where drone operations can be conducted without prior permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). These zones have been established to facilitate easier and more flexible use of drones for various purposes including commercial, recreational and government activities.
However, Kumar pointed out that the startup had to jump through hoops to get permission from the local administration to deliver to these three housing societies.
“We had to get a ton of approvals. The country still doesn't have a complete, good architecture to give any kind of approval. Even though things have gotten easier, we still have to get a lot of approvals.” added
Apart from three SkyPods operational in three housing societies, Kumar said they have installed at least 80 in housing societies in Gurugram. He said that some more such pods are active for drone delivery. However, he declined to name the partner with whom he is making such deliveries, citing confidentiality.
Kumar is betting on the use of drones for e-commerce, citing environmental reasons and the well-being of delivery executives.
“The biggest pain today is for riders, let's say you order something, the rider comes to your door to deliver it, and you're not there, he's not going to get paid for that delivery. My What happens in the system, even if it tries to deliver it, it doesn't leave the pod, it might get to the pod the next day and there might be a walker, who might open the pod. That time myself gave you the package,” he explained.