Watch: Dubai launches drone delivery route through Nad Al Sheba Grand Mosque

Dubai launched its first drone delivery route in the Nad Al Sheba area on Monday, with a mosque serving as a food pickup point.

Customers in the area can place their order, through Keeta Drone, for delivery from Avenue Mall restaurants and cafes. The food and drinks will then be flown to residents in the courtyard of Nad Al Sheba Grand Mosque.

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With mosques serving as a hub for many across UAE, the move seeks to use their position as community and service centres. This drone delivery route will also help position mosques as smart hubs, integrating tech for the comfort and convenience of the faithful.

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Customers placed their first order, and food and drinks were dispatched in no time. Watch a video here:

Nad Al Sheba's drone route involved public and private sectors teaming up to provide environmentally friendly, smart and fast delivery services.

The initiative is a partnership between the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, and Keeta Drone.

Drone deliveries in Dubai

In December 2024, the emirate's DCAA awarded the first licence to Keeta Drone to deliver products in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DS), with six drones in the initial stage.

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, placed the first order, using the drone delivery system through the platform from the Rochester Institute of Technology-Dubai (RIT-Dubai), one of the landing points within DSO's drone delivery network.

Since then, the emirate has expanded delivery routes, and placed ambitious targets. By next year, Dubai aims to cover 30 per cent of the city with drone delivery services and expand this coverage to 70 per cent within the next five years.

UAE also recently granted the country's first drone airspace service provider certificate to Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS).

DANS developed an air traffic management platform for drones, which will enable immediate approvals for drone flights, integrate radar and weather data, and weather alerts, enhance conflict detection and avoidance capabilities, and expand into urban air mobility applications in the future.

• Dubai

Poojaraj Maniyeri

• 

pooja@khaleejtimes.com

Poojaraj Maniyeri is a Digital Journalist who loves turning everyday conversations into news stories. She is also a typical bookworm, and brings a novel with her everywhere she goes.