AirAsia Digital Partners With The Government To Explore Delivery Using Drones

Will we see drone deliveries in Malaysia soon? Teleport, AirAsia Digital’s logistics venture, just announced a collaboration with the government’s Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) to launch the Urban Drone Delivery Sandbox and explore the long-term viability of an urban drone delivery service.

The pilot project for automated drone delivery from AirAsia’s e-commerce platforms including airasia Shop is set to be executed through a 6-month phased approach at a government test site in Cyberjaya. The service is currently in a testing stage with two local drone operators, VStream Revolution Sdn Bhd and Meraque Services Sdn Bhd.

The project’s first phase in Cyberjaya will assess the capability, experience, approval process, deployment readiness and service expansion of the drone operators. Upon successful trials, the service will be deployed and might be expanded beyond the sandbox environment.

Responding to the partnership, Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, said, “The drone delivery of goods can be expanded and scaled up beyond e-commerce, such as delivery of essential or medical supplies to areas that are rural, remote, or affected by natural disasters.”

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said that drone delivery would enable the company to keep up with the increasing demand for e-commerce and remain agile in a shifting economic landscape.