Drone delivery firm Manna denies wrongdoing and claims ‘majority support' among Dublin locals
The Irish start-up company, which is preparing to expand its drone delivery service to multiple sites around the country, has been embroiled in a local row around in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin over the noise of its flying service vessels.
A local Labour councillor's change.org petition urging restrictions on drone delivery flights has gathered almost 900 signatures.
But the company claims that it has received almost 2,000 positive service reviews and that the online petition is not restricted to local residents.
Manna will also appeal the council's allegation of wrongdoing, its CEO said.
Speaking to Business Plus magazine, Mr Healy said the company would be 'contesting any suggestion [that] we have done something wrong'.
Manna has operated 200,000 delivery flights, 36,000 of which have been in the Dublin 15 area.
The six-year-old company currently operates drone deliveries in Ireland, Finland and Texas. It employs 120 people at a base in Glasnevin, where it builds its drones. In Ireland, it has agreements in place with over 30 fast food outlets and retailers and currently flies between 100 and 300 daily fights in the Blanchardstown area.
Manna has so far raised $60m (€52.5m) in funding, including a $30m round in March that was led by Molten Ventures and Tapestry VC, with support from Enterprise Ireland, Coca-Cola HBC, Dynamo VC and Radius Capital.
Mr Healy said the company will present the letter of support to local politicians.
'We've engaged with representatives and residents that have genuine concerns on the futuristic nature of the technology of which 112 in the area are from Dublin 15 eircodes,' he said.
'However there is a huge majority of people in the area that use and value the service that should be listened to. The letters of support we have received are limited to residents living in eircodes in Dublin 15. We have been flying in Dublin 15 for a year and a half and Ireland more broadly for over half a decade and the data and anecdotes have shown a warm welcome and demand for our service anywhere we have flown.'
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