DEERFIELD, Ill: September 19, 2019. US retail pharmacy Walgreens and Wing Aviation, the first drone operator certified as an air carrier by the Federal Aviation Administration, will begin offering deliveries to residents of Christiansburg, Virginia next month.

The two companies will use the pilot programme to determine the viability of delivering health and wellness products by drone within minutes of placing orders via the Wing app.

Eligible customers in the Christiansburg area will have access to more than 100 non-prescription products and six convenient packs via the Wing app that include many of Walgreens most sought-after products in its stores.

Christiansburg, with a population of 22,000, was selected because Wing has been working since 2016 with nearby Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to test drone delivery under a U.S. Department of Transportation programme.

“This is the kind of omni-channel partnership and offering that can redefine convenience for our customers and communities – delivering items to homes in minutes, not hours or days,” commented Vish Sankaran, chief innovation officer for the Walgreens Boots Alliance company.

Walgreens says approximately 78 percent of the US population live within five miles of a store.

Last year Walgreens Boots Alliance replaced General Electric on the Dow Jones Industrial Index with fiscal year sales of US$131.5 billion and GAAP net earnings of US$5 billion.