According to a Dublin drone delivery business, which is expanding to two additional regions and hopes to have 10 bases servicing a million consumers in Dublin by the end of this year, it will be able to serve almost half a million people in the city by the summer, reports RTE.
However, requests to regulate commercial drone deliveries have been sparked by complaints about noise levels in the area of its current operation in west Dublin.
Add to that, many private drone users such as those who own the DJI Mavic Air 2 pictured above, say that they’re being hampered enjoying the hobby by private companies.
One such private drone operator told The Liberal:
“These private companies are a real pain in the neck. They think they own the airspace. We abide by all the laws but you have to get permission from Tom, Dick and Harry to actually fly the drone. They’re not cheap toys, they’re expensive pieces of equipment, we just want a fair playing field where we can all enjoy the hobby, fly our drones and the private companies can operate also.”
Other private residents say that drones flying up and down over their houses are causing a lot of noise:
“They’re very noisy, I just wonder are they actually spying on us with cameras”, one resident told us.
According to the Manna drone delivery service, which started off in Blanchardstown less than a year ago, it is currently reaching over 20% of Dublin 15’s population, reports RTE.
Up to 300 deliveries are made daily within a 3-kilometer radius by the business, which is situated in a tiny concrete lot behind Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.
Within three minutes, five big white drones deliver books, food, and over-the-counter medications to consumers, reports RTE.
It has now built a second base at the adjacent Junction 6 off the M50, distributing from surrounding food businesses, since business is rising.
Convenience is the main reason for Manna’s appeal, according to its creator and CEO, Bobby Healy, reports RTE.
“We started off in Moneygall, then Oranmore then Balbriggan, and now here. At our last location, 38% of the population used the service. Here, in half the time, we’ve already reached 22% of Dublin 15. So it is massively popular,” reports RTE.
“Coffee is one of the most popular things, alongside ice cream, burgers and fries. It is just a way better way to get it. Instead of delivery drivers racing around housing estates, there are now drones safely flying overhead,” he said, reports RTE.
However, several residents of adjacent Castleknock claim that hundreds of drone flights are having an adverse effect on them during the peak delivery periods, which are Wednesday afternoons, weekends, and nights when local secondary students are on half days.
One of them, Peter, who wishes to remain anonymous, resides just 100 meters from Manna’s second Blanchardstown site, reports RTE.
Every few minutes, as he sits at his dining table and looks out his rear window, a drone gently emerges on the horizon of the homes behind his garden, lingers for a moment, and then moves past his property, its flashing green and red lights bouncing off his glass table.
“From about half eight, quarter to nine, you can hear them coming in. It is an unusual sound. It is like a lawn mower going over your house or a moped. Even though I live close to the M3 motorway and I can hear the traffic, I can hear this more distinctly,” reports RTE.
“It is just annoying, it feels intrusive. I did speak to Manna drones, and I stopped them flying directly over my house, but now they go kind of parallel to my house,” he added, reports RTE.
Although Peter acknowledges the advantages of drone delivery—his daughter even tested it out when it first started—he says he does not think it is the most effective method to serve fast food.
“I see them talk about delivering medical devices. I am sure in the storm, it would have been ideal to deliver battery packs. It is a hugely valuable technology. But delivering a coffee or a piece of pitta or a bag of chips, I think that is a problem. They are creating a problem for a solution,” reports RTE.
“I had a postman out this morning in an electric vehicle, deliver two packages, one to my house, one to the house next door, and has probably delivered 40 more along the route. He would have to fly a drone to deliver each one individually,” he said, reports RTE.
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