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With Automated Drones Crossing the Sergipe River, iFood’s Aerial Deliveries Connect Aracaju Shopping to Barra dos Coqueiros, Reducing Logistics Bottlenecks, Keeping Delivery Riders in the Last Mile, and Testing a Hybrid Model That Could Soon Spread to Major Cities in Brazil
Since the beginning of October 2025, iFood has started operating aerial deliveries with drones in Aracaju, crossing the Sergipe River in just five minutes and replacing a 40-minute road trip between the Sergipe capital and the neighboring Barra dos Coqueiros. By December 5, 2025, the pilot operation remained stable, monitored by partner Speedbird Aero and authorized by the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), with no formal incident reports.
The experimental route connects the main shopping center of the Sergipe capital to a growing coastal city, with high-end condominiums and around 40,000 residents, where the supply of restaurants from major chains was hampered by reliance on a single bridge. By combining drones in the critical stretch over the river and delivery riders in the final stage, iFood tests a hybrid model that could reshape delivery in other urban bottlenecks across the country.
How Aerial Deliveries Work in Aracaju
In practice, iFood’s aerial deliveries in Aracaju do not land in just any backyard or balcony, as many people imagine.
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The operation uses two fixed points: a droneport installed at the main shopping center in the city and another droneport in Barra dos Coqueiros.
Between these two points, the drones cover the slowest and most congested part of the route, crossing the Sergipe River.
At the shopping center, orders leave the food court kitchens and are carried by an employee to the droneport.
There, the meal is placed in a box attached to the drone.
The equipment takes off automatically, follows a pre-programmed route, and completes the flight in approximately five minutes, replacing the long road trip that overloaded the bridge and required the delivery person to travel back and forth between the two banks.
Delivery Riders Remain at the Final Stage of Delivery
Contrary to fears of the “end of delivery riders,” the operation in Sergipe was designed to keep motorcyclists as a central part of the chain.
In Barra dos Coqueiros, a motorcycle delivery person waits at the local droneport, picks up the meal as soon as the drone lands, and travels only a few hundred meters to the customer’s door, reducing transit time and wear on the busier roads.
The drone, in turn, takes off again empty and returns on its own to the Aracaju shopping center, ready for another trip.
According to iFood’s logistics director, the idea is that aerial deliveries take over the most critical part of the route, while delivery riders focus on shorter distances, with a higher turnover of orders.
The company’s promise is that, by alleviating the bridge bottleneck, motorcyclists will be able to make more deliveries in less time, without losing their prominence.
Safety, Legislation, and Flight Control
From a regulatory standpoint, the project drones operate in the same airspace as airplanes, primarily in areas near airports, and must follow strict rules.
Speedbird Aero, iFood’s partner specializing in aerial deliveries by drones, claims to operate in accordance with Brazilian legislation, considered among the most restrictive in the world for this type of operation.
Each flight is monitored in real-time from a command room installed in a container at the shopping center parking lot.
A licensed operator is responsible for starting the drone, attaching the load, and monitoring the route on screens, even though the flight plan is fully automated.
If something deviates from the standard, the professional can take manual control via joystick, force an emergency landing in a safe area, or deploy the equipment’s parachute, according to the defined protocols.
All activities are filmed, recorded, and archived, both for operational study purposes and for potential accountability in case of an incident.
Drone Capacity and Technical Operation Details
The equipment used in iFood’s aerial deliveries in Sergipe was designed for transporting relatively light but high-value loads.
Each drone can carry up to 10 kilos of orders, sufficient for complete meals, family combos, or small retail deliveries, such as a box with several items.
The current flight range reaches about 20 kilometers, according to Speedbird, which comfortably covers the route between Aracaju and Barra dos Coqueiros and leaves room for expansion in other similar scenarios.
The goal is to address specific logistics bottlenecks, such as rivers, bays, hills, or regions with limited road access, rather than completely replacing motorcycles in densely populated areas.
The repetition of the route facilitates the design of dedicated air corridors, reducing the risk of conflict with other aircraft.
Speedbird Aero, Testing History and Accumulated Experience
Speedbird Aero reached its current operation after about five years of testing together with iFood, which includes experimental flights, restricted pilots, and route adjustments under the supervision of Anac.
The company already provides aerial delivery services for clients such as Correios and Vale, and even hosted representatives from Royal Mail, the postal service in the United Kingdom, who came to Sergipe to observe the model with a view towards possible application in mail routes in Scotland.
According to CEO Manoel Coelho, the testing phase was completed with no reports of serious accidents or significant noise complaints.
The operation is designed to be discreet, with flights at controlled altitudes, short exposure times over inhabited areas, and strict contingency protocols, precisely to build regulatory and social trust around the technology.
Next Steps for Aerial Deliveries in Brazil
With the pilot in Aracaju established, iFood is already discussing with Anac, via Speedbird Aero, the identification of new logistical bottlenecks in the country where the hybrid model of drones and delivery riders makes sense.
The logic is to replicate the design of two fixed points, connected by aerial deliveries that are quick, in areas of difficult road access or subject to chronic congestion.
The company is also looking to expand the use of drones beyond shopping food courts. Pharmacies, markets, and stores already operating within the app are on the radar as the next beneficiaries, paving the way for a corridor of convenience items transported by air and distributed on short routes by motorcyclists.
The bet is that if the model shows gains in time, cost, and reliability in Sergipe, it will be tested in major metropolitan regions with rivers, lagoons, or poorly serviced peripheral areas via traditional transport.
In light of this logistical shift being tested in the Northeast, with drones crossing the river and delivery riders making the final delivery to the customer’s door, would you see yourself frequently using this type of aerial delivery or do you still prefer to receive your orders exclusively via conventional motorcycles?
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