Irish drone delivery company Manna Air Delivery has to date completed more than 300,000 deliveries and partnered with over 120 Irish businesses since its inception, delivery small packages to customers’ doorsteps without hustles.
It has been a smooth and safe delivery operation that has unsurprisingly seen the company becoming one of the first drone delivery companies to receive a SAIL III Operational Authorisation (OA) from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), representing one of the most advanced operational approvals currently granted for uncrewed aircraft operations in the United Kingdom.
Under the Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) framework, SAIL III authorisations are reserved for operations that require a high degree of regulatory scrutiny and demonstration of safety assurance.
Achieving this standard requires operators to provide extensive evidence across operational, technical and organisational domains, supported by detailed risk assessments, safety cases and independent review.
And after more than 300,000 successful flights, the UK’s aviation regulatory body has given its seal of approval that Manna has stated “reflects the UK CAA’s confidence that Manna has demonstrated the systems, procedures and governance necessary to conduct advanced uncrewed aircraft operations in accordance with stringent regulatory requirements”.
All good, right?
Which was why it came as a shock that – barely one day after celebrating its latest certification – Manna Air Delivery dropped the bombshell that it was shuttering its operations in Ireland; at least for now.
In a statement, Manna said it had been forced into this decision following the lack of a clear national drone framework that has left the sector reliant on local planning processes and created uncertainty around the infrastructure required to support drone delivery at scale.
Founded in Ireland by CEO Bobby Healy in 2019, Manna has spent the past seven years pioneering local commercial drone delivery, successfully launching and operating services in Moneygall, Oranmore, Balbriggan, Blanchardstown and Cork; as well as expanding internationally to Helsinki, Finland and Texas.
In the drone company’s most mature market, Blanchardstown, where the company has operated since February 2024, almost 90,000 deliveries have been completed.
“Manna believes this success demonstrates both strong community demand and the opportunity for Ireland to address the policy, planning and infrastructure gaps that can slow the deployment of new technologies, even where consumer adoption and commercial demand are already well established,” the company statement said.
“The absence of a clear national policy framework for commercial drone delivery means there is currently no defined pathway for the sector to scale in Ireland. In the absence of such a framework, decisions are assessed locally, creating uncertainty around the planning and infrastructure requirements needed to support commercial drone delivery at scale.”
In the same period, Manna has watched as the United States, United Kingdom, China and the UAE underwent rapid regulatory progress and strong commercial momentum.
As a result, the company said was concentrating its investment and operational resources in markets where large-scale drone delivery was now a reality.
Manna has already received operational authorisation in both the USA and UK, and anticipates full authorisation to operate in the UAE this year.
The decision also means that planned expansion and future employment growth at local operational delivery hubs in Ireland will not proceed at this time.
However; “This decision does not affect Manna’s continued investment in Ireland, which will remain the company’s primary base for research and development, engineering, robotics, regulatory affairs, customer operations and corporate functions.”
Manna stressed that its decision represented a strategic pause rather than a permanent withdrawal of delivery operations from Ireland.
The company said it remained confident that drone delivery can play an important role in strengthening communities by helping local businesses thrive, improving access to essential goods and services, reducing congestion and emissions, and ensuring that people of all ages and abilities can access what they need, when they need it.
“This is a difficult decision because Ireland is where Manna was founded, built and first proven,” said Healy.
“We are incredibly grateful to the communities, businesses, customers and employees who helped show that drone delivery can work at scale. However, in the absence of a clear national pathway to scale commercial drone delivery, we have to focus our investment in markets where that pathway is now clear.”
Should an appropriate national policy framework be established, Manna said it would be open to resume delivery operations in the country.
The company also said it was ready to work with the Irish Government, the Irish Aviation Authority and other local bodies to help shape the National Drone Framework
Customers in affected areas will be notified directly through the Manna app and by email. Manna will work with local business partners to complete the cessation of Irish delivery operations in an orderly manner.
Manna said it was ceasing its delivery operations in Ireland to concentrate its growth on the United States, UK and other international markets where regulatory, and planning frameworks are advancing and commercial drone delivery is accelerating.