Skye Air introduces 7-minute drone delivery service in Bengaluru

Skye Air, the hyperlocal drone delivery network, has launched its ultra-fast service in Bengaluru, making it the second city in India, after Gurugram, to adopt advanced drone logistics. Residents in the Konankunte and Kanakapura Road areas will soon experience deliveries in as little as seven minutes, showcasing the rapid evolution of drone technology in urban logistics.

 

The firm said the introduction of drone deliveries in Bengaluru is set to transform the e-commerce and quick commerce landscape, offering speed, efficiency, and sustainability. With this initiative, Bengaluru becomes the second city in India to adopt drone-powered ultra-fast commerce, paving the way for rapid expansion across the country.  Skye Air said its customers include Bluedart, DTDC, Shiprocket and Ecom Express. Currently, the company handles shipments for e-commerce and quick-commerce, with plans to begin food delivery soon.

   

“Integrating drone delivery technology into last-mile logistics is not just about speed; it is about creating sustainable and efficient ecosystems. Our expansion into Bengaluru signifies a rapid demand for eco-friendly and faster delivery solutions that benefit both businesses and consumers,” said Ankit Kumar, founder and chief executive officer, Skye Air. “With each drone flight, we are not just improving efficiency — we are paving the way for a cleaner, greener, and smarter future of logistics.”

 

The company said this is the start of a nationwide shift in commerce, where drone delivery becomes the norm, not the exception.

 

How it works

 

The service is powered by Skye Ship One, Skye Air’s flagship delivery drone, which is designed for high-capacity operations. The drone can carry up to 10 kg per trip and follows a three-dimensional Skye Tunnel — an invisible air corridor at 120 metres above ground level (AGL) — to bypass traffic congestion and reduce transit times.

 

Upon reaching its destination, the drone lowers to 20 metres and activates the Skye Winch system, carefully lowering the package to the designated Skye Pod or drop zone. Once the delivery is complete, the drone auto-releases the package and returns to its origin using the same route. The entire process is completed in less than seven minutes.

 

Skye Ship One is equipped with state-of-the-art safety features, including an onboard parachute system that provides an extra layer of safety in case of unforeseen failures.

 

An integrated 5G module ensures real-time connectivity for enhanced navigation, tracking, and communication. There is also a Skye UTM Black Box, which captures critical mission data, including flight performance, system diagnostics, and environmental conditions, further enhancing operational integrity.

 

Drone deliveries are not just faster and more efficient — they are also a game-changer for sustainability. Each delivery via Skye Air’s drone saves 520 grams of carbon emissions compared to traditional road-based methods. For instance, each month, 5,000 drone deliveries per route result in a saving of 2.6 metric tonnes of CO₂. Over the course of a year, this amounts to 31 metric tonnes of CO₂ eliminated per route. When scaled to more than 100 routes nationwide, the total CO₂ savings reach 3,100 metric tonnes annually — equivalent to planting over 150,000 trees each year. 

Healthcare

 

Founded in November 2019, the New Delhi-based firm is already transforming product delivery to the neighbouring residents. These include deliveries in Gurugram’s housing societies like Fresco and Rosewood.

 

In an earlier interview with Business Standard, Kumar had said that Skye Air has formed various partnerships to tap the e-commerce market. It had entered into a partnership with e-commerce enablement platforms such as Shiprocket and Shree Maruti Integrated Logistics (SMILe) for the delivery of shipments via drones. Kumar had said that drones bring down the cost of package delivery for companies by almost 50 per cent.

 

The firm was also developing customized drones for healthcare and other package delivery use cases. In the past, about half of the deliveries made by the company were related to medicines and healthcare products.

 

Last year Skye Air said it bagged 10 healthcare medicine delivery government tenders across the country. These include from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rajkot and Bhubaneswar and Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu. The list also included All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health, (AIIHPH) Kolkata.

 

The start-up has also successfully participated in the project ‘medicine from the sky’ in collaboration with the Telangana government. The firm covered an aerial distance of 104 km in West Bengal to deliver a medicine consignment of Flipkart Health+, the longest commercial delivery using an unmanned vehicle.

 

It has also worked with the Himachal Pradesh government to successfully perform BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) trials in the Chamba district, covering a total distance of 170 kilometres. Another successful initiative was carried out in Meghalaya, where 100 kg of turmeric was conveyed in a fly-off event. 

 

Skye Air also endeavours at transformational change in rural and remote areas by helping make instant access to vital medical supplies.For example, a journey from Mandi to Hamirpur, in Himachal Pradesh, which typically takes more than 2 hours by road, is completed in just 30 minutes by drone. Similarly, the trip from Chandigarh to Shimla, usually a 4-hour drive, is reduced to just 45 minutes.