Your next DoorDash order might be coming from the sky

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Your DoorDash order is approaching – from the sky.

The company announced the launch of its DoorDash Air program Wednesday, its in-house drone delivery to handle orders in a three to five mile range.

The launch comes after DoorDash received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate commercial drone deliveries in the U.S., making it one of just eight drone operators with the certification.

Drone deliveries could help address challenges with mid-range orders. These accounted for more than 20 percent of DoorDash orders in 2025 and took nearly 25 percent longer to complete due to difficulty matching them with available delivery people known as “Dashers”, the company said.

By shifting some of those deliveries to drones, DoorDash said drivers can focus on shorter trips while improving efficiency and earning potential. Dashers will remain essential to the business, according to the company, handling most daily deliveries and orders that require extra flexibility, like apartment drop-offs and large purchases.

DoorDash Air drones (aircraft nose pictured) will deliver orders within a three- to five-mile range (DoorDash)

DoorDash already offers drone delivery in select markets, including Christiansburg, Virginia, and parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area through partnerships with Wing and Flytrex.

While it will continue those collaborations, DoorDash Air allows the company to build its own drones and develop the technology, infrastructure and software needed to manage deliveries from restaurants directly to customers, including pickups from drive-thrus, rooftops and back doors.

“We want drone delivery to work for any merchant, anywhere. We’re building the full stack to make that possible from the ground infrastructure to the drone itself, and the handoff systems that make it work together seamlessly,” Harrison Shih, Head of DoorDash Air, said in a statement.

“Advances in hardware, compute, and AI are creating extraordinary new capabilities for local commerce, and becoming a certified air carrier accelerates everything we’re building.”

The company will reveal when and where DoorDash Air deliveries will operate during its annual Dash Forward event in September, a company spokesperson told The Independent.

More details on when and where DoorDash Air drone (pictured in production) deliveries will launch will be announced in September (DoorDash)

DoorDash’s drone will be developed by DoorDash Labs, the company’s robotics and automation division behind its autonomous sidewalk robot Dot.

The service will eventually join DoorDash’s broader delivery network, but customers won’t be able to choose drone delivery directly, CNET reports. Instead, the company’s AI-powered Autonomous Delivery Platform will determine whether an order is best handled by a Dasher, robot, autonomous vehicle or drone based on factors like speed, cost and location.

The launch comes as Walmart and Amazon continue expanding their drone delivery programs. Walmart’s network, powered by Wing, and Amazon’s in-house Prime Air service currently focus on lightweight packages under five pounds delivered within about a six-mile radius of participating locations.

Walmart’s drone deliveries are available in select markets across Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona, with planned expansions to cities including Memphis, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Diego by 2027. Amazon Prime Air is currently operating in select cities including Baton Rouge, Phoenix and College Station.

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