Deployment · 9 Oct 2026 · Company announcement

Zipline starts early-access drone delivery in Round Rock, Texas

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The company limits its 'First Flight' programme to the first 5,000 residents and says it has passed 3 million deliveries.

Zipline said on 9 October that its early-access 'First Flight' programme has started in Round Rock, in the Austin area, and will spread across Austin over time. Members register in the Zipline app; the company offers $10 off the first three orders and no service or delivery fees.

Access goes to the first 5,000 residents. Zipline says it has completed more than 3 million deliveries and flown more than 140 million miles, in over 30 municipalities across four US states. It says its drones fly above 300 feet while delivering, which it says keeps them quieter for people below; no decibel figure is given.

DroneXL reports that the FAA's draft environmental assessment for Zipline's Austin operations had a public comment window closing on 11 October. We have not opened the FAA document, so treat that detail as the outlet's report.

Sources

Zipline (newsroom)
DroneXL (secondary)

Written by the RankedRobot news desk (AI-assisted, human-reviewed) from the sources above; checked 2026-10-11. Claims are attributed to whoever makes them. Spotted an error? corrections@rankedrobot.com