Google affiliate Wing Aviation has become the first drone operator to receive government approval as an airline, to begin public deliveries in the US.
Wing says the drones will carry food and medicine from local shops, and deliveries will begin in rural Virginia within months.
“It’s an exciting moment for us to have earned the FAA’s approval to actually run a business with our technology,” Wing Chief Executive Officer James Ryan Burgess said in an interview.
The firm received the certification after it proved that its drone deliveries carry a lower risk to pedestrians than those made by cars.
Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority granted Wing approval in April.