Off the wire
• Taiwan affairs official meets with former KMT chairman  • Roundup: Colombia, FARC announce final peace agreement, ending over 50 years of conflict  • N.W. China cliff paintings severely damaged by floods  • U.S. airstrike in Syria may have caused civilian casualties: military  • Missing Czech tourist found alive after month in New Zealand wilderness  • (Recast) Roundup: Australia presses ahead with controversial austerity measures  • 2nd LD Writethru: UN chief hails peace deal to world's longest armed conflict in Colombia  • Roundup: Australia presses ahead with controversial austerity measures  • Roundup: Better medal haul for Latin America in Rio 2016  • US women's soccer keeper Solo faces six-month suspension  
You are here: 　 Home

New Zealand to launch pizza drone delivery service

Xinhua, August 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

New Zealand pizza lovers are to be the first in the world to have their favorite meal delivered by drone, Transport Minister Simon Bridges said Thursday.

Bridges welcomed the announcement that Domino's Pizza Enterprises had joined forces with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developer Flirtey to launch the first commercial pizza drone delivery service in the world.

"Domino's and Flirtey have chosen New Zealand for the trial because our forward-thinking aviation regulations encourage innovation, while protecting safety," Bridges said in a statement.

New aviation rules came into force in August last year to regulate and enable the use of UAVs for recreational and commercial purposes in New Zealand.

"The announcement of this trial confirms that New Zealand's framework for UAVs is world-class. In addition, the government has reviewed the laws for driverless vehicles and small passenger service operators, to ensure New Zealand stays at the forefront of transport innovation," said Bridges.

The trial was also a valuable opportunity for the Civil Aviation Authority, the aviation safety regulator, to make sure that appropriate safety precautions were taken when the trial got underway later this year.

The government is also continuing to work with Domino's on the possibility of testing a driverless pizza delivery unit on land.

The U.S.-based pizza chain announced in March it was exploring the possibility of testing a pizza delivery robot in New Zealand. Endit