Israeli Drone Delivery Startup Flytrex To Launch North Carolina Operations

Israeli drone logistics startup Flytrex, which specializes in food and consumer good deliveries via unmanned aircraft systems, received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin its drone food delivery services in Holly Springs, North Carolina, following a successful pilot program last year.

“Flytrex will officially launch drone deliveries in North Carolina in the coming months, and aims to eventually bring backyard deliveries to Holly Springs,” the company told US publication Avionics last week.

Flytrex will be working with its operating partner, Causey Aviation Unmanned, to begin “a single predetermined delivery route that flies primarily over unpopulated areas — and won’t fly at night or over people,” Avionics reported.

In the first stage, Flytrex’s delivery drones will fly from a distribution center in Holly Springs Towne Center to Ting Park, an outdoor sports and recreation hub, where local residents will receive orders “via a proprietary wire-drop system that gently lowers packages to the ground from a height of 80 feet.”

Earlier this year, Flytrex completed a $7.5 million funding round, which came on the heels of a pilot program with Ukraine’s postal service.

Flytrex has been operating in Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland, in collaboration with AHA, one of the country’s largest e-commerce companies, since August 2017.

In September 2018, Flytrex teamed up with King’s Walk Golf Course outside Grand Forks, North Dakota, and US drone services provider EASE Drones, to launch the first golf course drone delivery system in the US.

Flytrex was founded in 2013 by Yariv Bash, best known as the co-founder of SpaceIL, and Amit Regev.