NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — A new drone grocery delivery service is flying into North Richland Hills.
The North Richland Hills City Council Monday approved landing spots for Wing drones at two Walmart Supercenter locations – 6401 NE Loop 820 and 9101 North Tarrant Parkway.
The pilot program will last one year. North Richland Hills is the first Tarrant County city, but not the only North Texas city, to allow the drone delivery service from Wing, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet.
Wing started providing drone delivery services in Frisco and Little Elm in 2022 and Lewisville in 2023, according to their website.
Wing drones deliver within a six-mile radius of each participating store. The drones weigh about 11 pounds and can carry packages weighing up to 2.3 pounds.
Wing operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but has Federal Aviation Administration approval to fly during daylight hours, officials say. Drones have a fenced landing spot in front of the stores when not in use.
“[We’re] trying to be responsive to our customers,” said Ivan Jaime, Walmart’s director of government and public affairs.
DFW is an innovation hub for Walmart, meaning the company tests out new technologies and initiatives in the market, Jaime said. He says Walmart is also planning to open one of their first-in-the-country health clinics in North Richland Hills.
Jaime said the company had an e-commerce focus during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The fact of the matter is that there is still a lot of people that like to do their shopping in stores, so we’re really trying to invest back into the stores, to remodel them, make them more appealing,” Jaime said.
For more information, visit Wings’ website.
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