You’re lying in bed, hung over from a night of excess, and nothing sounds better than filling your belly with a plate of greasy food. But nothing sounds worse than leaving the house to go and find it. Sigh.

In the past you may have summoned the pizza delivery guy, but in Reykjavik, Iceland — a city divided by inlets and waterways — traditional delivery by vehicle isn’t necessarily the quickest way to satisfy your cravings. These unique conditions, and the increasing demand for food that can be ordered online, have inspired one company to map out a drone delivery route.

Flytrex — an Israeli drone logistics company — claims to be the “first ever drone delivery system deployed in an urban environment”. More like one of the first.

Amazon made its first autonomous drone delivery — a bag of popcorn to a shopper in the UK in December. An Estonian company is also testing a drone delivery system for cold drinks.

Flytrex was recently granted permission by the civil aviation authority in Iceland to make commercial drone flights. To satisfy its customers’ cravings, they’ve partnered with AHA, an online marketplace that offers deliveries for restaurants and grocery stores lacking the resources for selling their food online.

Flytrex and AHA are using a hexacopter (a modified DJI Matrice 600) to deliver food orders.

The drones have a cargo compartment about the size of a mailbox that can transport packages up to 6.5 pounds a distance of six miles, according to Flytrex.

—By arrangement with The Washington Post

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

A new war
Updated 01 Mar, 2026

A new war

UNLESS there is an immediate diplomatic breakthrough, the joint Israeli-American aggression against Iran launched on...
Breaking the cycle
01 Mar, 2026

Breaking the cycle

THE confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan has taken a dangerous turn. Attacks, retaliatory strikes and the...
Anonymous collections
01 Mar, 2026

Anonymous collections

THE widespread emergence of ‘nameless donation boxes’ soliciting charity in cities and towns across Punjab...
Afghan hostilities
Updated 28 Feb, 2026

Afghan hostilities

The need is for an immediate ceasefire and substantive negotiations, with the onus on the Taliban to rein in cross-border attacks.
Cutting taxes
28 Feb, 2026

Cutting taxes

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s plan to cut direct taxes for businesses in the next budget acknowledges the strain...
KCR challenge
28 Feb, 2026

KCR challenge

THE Karachi Circular Railway is being discussed again. It seems that the project, or, rather, the hopes of it, are...