DoorDash received FAA Part 135 certification to operate its own drone delivery service, DoorDash Air, launching fall 2026. The move turns the company into a competitor to its own partners, including Alphabet's Wing.
DoorDash received a Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, making it the eighth drone operator in the U.S. licensed to run its own commercial drone-delivery service. The company plans to start deliveries under the brand DoorDash Air in fall 2026, a spokesperson said.
The certification lets DoorDash operate its own aircraft rather than relying solely on partners. DoorDash Labs, the same in-house robotics team that built the ground-delivery robot Dot, is developing the drone, the routing software, the safety systems, and the handoff mechanisms. Harrison Shih, head of DoorDash Air, said in a statement that the company is "building the full stack to make that possible from the ground infrastructure to the drone itself."
DoorDash has been in drone delivery for years through partnerships with Alphabet's Wing and Flytrex. Those deals are still active, the spokesperson said, and DoorDash recently expanded its work with Wing to metro Atlanta. The company said it has completed "tens of thousands" of drone deliveries through those partnerships.
DoorDash Air will sit on the same Autonomous Delivery Platform that dispatches drivers, drones, and the Dot robot. The platform picks the mode based on speed, cost, location, and experience. The spokesperson said DoorDash wants "more operators, not fewer" and described its own drones as an additional option that strengthens the network, not one that replaces partner routes.
The company said DoorDash Air could cut delays on orders traveling 3 to 5 miles. Those orders take nearly 25% longer than shorter trips, DoorDash said, because of the extra time needed to find a Dasher and cover the distance.
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