JustEat is launching Europe's first food delivery service via drone in Dublin

JUSTEAT is launching Europe’s first food delivery service by drone and it’ll take just three minutes for meals to get to customers.

The food delivery platform has teamed up with drone manufacturer Manna to offer hungry diners the super speedy new service.

Customers will order food as usual through the JustEat app but when it gets to the delivery stage, there will be a drone icon that they'll need to press.

After paying, the person placing the order will then need to head to a designated pick-up spot to meet the drone.

The fast food is being tested in Dublin, Ireland, next month and will only be available to students at University College Dublin.

UCD has around 30,000 students and Manna told us the trial will last “several weeks” before a decision is made on the future of the project.

Students will also only be able to order from Ben & Jerry’s and Camile Thai during the trial period.

An exact launch date has yet to be announced, but Manna tells us it’ll kick off towards the middle to end of March.

Manna says drone delivery will be “in line with standard delivery costs” that providers currently charge, so customers should expect to pay around the same as they would for road-based deliveries.

For example, Camile Thai charges €3.99 (£3.36) for delivery, while Ben & Jerry’s isn’t currently listed on JustEat in Dublin.

But if the project did roll out nationwide, Manna would be free to set their own delivery fees.

Bobby Healy, Manna CEO and founder, said: “I am extremely proud of the team and what we have built.

“It’s clear Drone delivery provides a faster, cleaner, safer, cheaper and higher quality alternative to road-based delivery. We are excited about how that will improve the world.”

Amanda Roche-Kelly, managing director at JustEat Ireland, said: “Technology is at the core of everything we do at Just Eat, so we’re delighted to be involved in these pioneering trials with Manna, who have clearly built a groundbreaking drone delivery system.”

While JustEat isn't alone in exploring drones, it's the first company to offer flying food as a service in Europe.

Google's parent company Alphabet launched the very first food drone service in Australia last April, while Uber Eats trialled the use of drones in San Diego last October.

Deliveroo tells us it has no plans to explore drone deliveries.

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