DoorDash Wins FAA Air-Carrier Certification, Launches In-House Drone Delivery
DoorDash Air adds a US-designed drone fleet to the company's driver and robot network, targeting the mid-range deliveries that slow drivers down most.
By Dillip Chowdary • Jul 29, 2026 • Source: TechCrunch
DoorDash received FAA Part 135 air-carrier certification in late July 2026, clearing it to operate its own drone fleet — DoorDash Air — alongside its existing drivers, ground robots, and autonomous-delivery partners.
DoorDash Labs, the company's hardware arm, is building the aircraft, ground infrastructure, and merchant handoff systems in-house, with a US-designed drone intended to complement, not replace, DoorDash's existing partner fleets.
The target is specifically mid-range orders: DoorDash says over 20% of its orders last year were three-to-five-mile trips, and those trips took nearly 25% longer to complete than shorter-range deliveries — exactly the range drones are best suited to shortcut.
Deliveries are expected to launch in fall 2026, and the company frames the drone rollout as freeing up drivers to focus on the shorter, faster deliveries they already prefer, rather than as a driver-replacement play.
Earlier drone pilots run with partners before this in-house certification averaged around 25-minute deliveries in 2025, and some participating merchants saw roughly 30% order-volume growth after launch — the kind of numbers that make the multi-year FAA certification process worth it.