This week started out right on Ridesharingforum.com as the news features went on drones. Did you know that Keeta, the delivery app in the Middle East run by China’s Meituan, has also ventured into drone systems? The team has more.
Okay, Keeta Drones!
Keeta Drones are Meituan’s autonomous drone delivery solutions, a low-altitude delivery network in operations now, especially across the United Arab Emirates.
Keeta received the country’s first commercial Beyond Visual Line of Sight license from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority last December 2024, and currently operates autonomous routes across Dubai Silicon Oasis and Nad Al-Sheba.
This drone network is capable of completing deliveries more than three kilometers in around 15 minutes, get that.
You know drones as they are, but these Keeta Drones are running on AI, or artificial intelligence, allowing it to become autonomous flight systems and multi-model logistics networks, which is why it is capable of improving last-mile efficiencies while easing pressures on congested roads.
“At Keeta Drone, we run the aerial layer of a multi-modal delivery network, and artificial intelligence is what connects it to everything on the ground. Every order enters one system that works out the best way to fulfill it, whether that is a drone, a rider, or a ground vehicle, and then coordinates the handoff between them in real time,” Junwei Yang, the general manager of Keeta Drone, noted in an interview. “Our drones plug into this network through AI that manages autonomous flight, plans and adjusts routes in the moment, and keeps the airspace safe through continuous detect-and-avoid systems that separate aircraft in real time. Computer vision guides precise take-off and landing at each site, while demand forecasting and dynamic scheduling keep the fleet moving efficiently as volumes rise.”
How Keeta Drones works
Drone delivery is helping transform the United Arab Emirates’ vision for smart logistics and connected infrastructure. This makes last-mile faster, cleaner, and more direct.
Remember, orders fly into the air – not through the stressful road traffic – so they can reach customers in minutes.
It matters most at peak times and rush hours when streets fill up with meal orders, parcels, and commuters all at once.
“Since receiving the UAE’s first BVLOS commercial license from the DCAA in December 2024, we have run live autonomous routes across Dubai Silicon Oasis and Nad Al-Sheba, and we have now completed over one million deliveries globally. Every flight runs on a fully electric aircraft using around 0.05 kWh per kilometer, which keeps emissions and cost low as we scale, and this is the real impact of smart logistics,” Yang explained.
If you are worried about whether the quality and safety of your food will be the same when delivered through Keeta Drones, you may refer to this previous report on RSF, shedding light on the science behind food safety when brought in through drones.
“As the world’s second-largest drone delivery operator, we at Keeta Drone bring global operating experience to the UAE, and we see the Emirates as a model for how forward-thinking markets can lead the future of urban logistics,” added Yang.
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