Ideapark plans drone deliveries for shoppers
Wednesday 19th August 2026 on 17:45 in
Finland
Seinäjoki’s Ideapark shopping centre is planning a pilot project to deliver purchases to customers’ homes by drone, Yle reports. Initial deliveries would involve light goods such as pharmacy products over distances of a few kilometres.
Seinäjoki hopes the required permits could be approved as early as this autumn, which would allow the pilot to begin next year. Ideapark chief executive Petri Häli said a more realistic timetable for drone deliveries could be within a couple of years.
The technology and its potential were presented at an event organised by West Avia at Seinäjoki Airport. Joonas Soini, project manager at Into Seinäjoki and chief executive of Seinäjoki Airport, said the initial tests would focus on small deliveries, such as pharmacy products and other lightweight goods.
The drones would be operated remotely. In the pilot, they would fly from Rengonharju to Ideapark and then on to customers. The initial flights would cover only a few kilometres.
Häli said the drones are currently too small to carry a full shopping bag. The main challenges include delivery safety, battery life in changing weather conditions and keeping the service cost-effective. An Italian equipment manufacturer plans to test the technology in Finnish winter conditions next winter.
Seinäjoki has applied to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, for permission to establish a flight area extending about 50 kilometres in each direction. Soini said the permit process had been difficult, but was gradually becoming clearer.
Authorities and equipment manufacturers have now reached agreement on the process for certifying the devices as safe, Soini said. In the first phase, a drone in Seinäjoki could weigh up to 25 kilograms, including the drone and its cargo. The package itself could weigh a few kilograms at most.
Drone deliveries have so far mainly been tested in Finland for transporting food in southern Finland. The aim in Seinäjoki is to gradually increase the amount and volume of goods that drones can carry.