The Chinese online life service Meituan has officially opened its first overseas drone delivery service. This is quite the boom in terms of using advanced and green Chinese digital technologies for low-altitude economies around the world. Its subsidiary, Keeta Drone, got a commercial license for drone deliveries Beyond the Visual Line of Sight from the civil aviation authority in Dubai. This will enable fast and efficient delivery of medications, food, and other essential items to selected pilot areas.
Mao Yinian, vice president of Meituan and president of Keeta Drone, stated that the self-designed aircraft, automated airports, as well as intelligent scheduling system by the company have been brought to Dubai. He added that the company has customized considerable changes for the country’s hotter environment.
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The robust development of a low-altitude economy, which cuts across flying cars and drone deliveries, into which most local governments today have supportive policies, has occurred in China. Meituan began the exploration of drones for local deliveries in 2017 and inaugurated its very first commercial delivery service in Shenzhen in 2021. As of December 2024, Keeta Drone operates fifty-three routes in major Chinese cities and has completed more than 400,000 deliveries.
This service takes in a variety of products and has locations that span everything from residential areas to tourist sites such as the Great Wall. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, China’s low-altitude economy was worth over 500 billion yuan (around $69.53 billion) at the end of last year and is expected to grow to two trillion yuan by 2030.