DDC Sparrow
Drone Delivery Canada Corp. has announced that, with the assistance of its sales agent Air Canada, it has entered into three commercial agreements on July 8th, 2021, with each of Edmonton International Airport, Apple Express Courier Ltd. and Ziing Final Mile Inc. to deploy DDC’s patented drone delivery solution at Edmonton International Airport.
Pursuant to the terms of the Agreements, DDC will enable defined-route delivery from EIA to deliveries off airport property utilizing the Sparrow drone and its DroneSpot takeoff and landing zones as well as additional drone flight infrastructure as required. The Customers will use DDC’s Sparrow delivery drone solution to transport a wide variety of cargo.
All operations will be conducted in accordance with appropriate Canadian regulations. Flights will be remotely monitored by DDC from its Operations Control Centre located in Vaughan, Ontario.
DDC will commence deployment of site infrastructure shortly and expects to begin providing drone delivery services under the commercial Agreements in Q3 of 2021. The Agreements provide for the payment from Customers of up-front fees and monthly fees for professional managed services for the project term of 12 months. This deployment will be the first use of an automatic delivery drone solution to provide B2B cargo delivery at Edmonton International Airport. It will be the Company’s first commercial contracts in Alberta and with courier companies.
“We are pleased that our partners have chosen Drone Delivery Canada as part of their mission to invest in new technology to advance the supply chain industry. To our knowledge, this is the first drone delivery project at a large-scale international airport anywhere in Canada. As an award-winning global leader, we are pleased to continue to advance our business, the industry overall and for our continued commercial success,”
said Michael Zahra, President & CEO of DDC.
“Edmonton International Airport knows that innovation is the key to future successes, and we can see that future in the sky ahead with Drone Delivery Canada and Air Canada Cargo. We look forward to working together with the regulatory agencies and our municipal partner Leduc County towards the safe operationalization of this project.”
Myron Keehn, Vice-President Air Service and Business Development, Edmonton International Airport.
“While the pandemic created an unprecedented spike in volume, we expect demand to continue, making advanced last-mile delivery systems paramount to meeting consumer expectations into the future. It’s energizing to be at the forefront of ecommerce, partnering with Drone Delivery Canada as an early adopter in drone technology. The knowledge and experience gained though this innovative program will benefit our customers in the new normal as restrictions begin to ease”,
says Nasser Syed, CEO of same-day final mile service provider Apple Express.
“We’re excited to work with Drone Delivery Canada and unlock access for our clients to new and innovative technologies,” says Chris Higham, President and CEO of Ziing Final Mile Inc. “Our core competencies are centered around operational and environmental efficiencies, so this is a natural step in supporting our long-term vision.”
This announcement comes shortly after the Company recently announced on May 20th, 2021 being successfully selected by UBC for a First Nations project in British Columbia. UBC and DDC are working towards finalizing their commercial agreement shortly, for project implementation expected to commence in Q3 2021. The agreement is also expected to provide for the payment of an up-front fee and monthly installment fees for professional managed services for the expected project duration of 12 months.
About Edmonton International Airport
Edmonton International Airport is a self-funded, not-for-profit corporation whose mandate is to drive economic prosperity for the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. Edmonton Airports managed Edmonton International Airport (EIA), and owns and operates Villeneuve Airport (VA). EIA is Canada’s fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic and the largest major Canadian airport by land area. EIA offers non-stop connections to destinations across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. EIA is a major economic driver and has attracted over $1.3 billion in investment to our property over the last few years. EIA’s Airport City Sustainability Campus is a living lab for accelerating the development, testing, implementation, and commercialization of technology. EIA’s Airport City Sustainability Campus propels new jobs, tourism, and economic diversification – and creates a destination in and around EIA, featuring entertainment, e-commerce, retail, hospitality, cargo/logistics, biopharma, light manufacturing and many other industries.
Source: Press Release