Delivery drones to replace gig-economy cyclists, says Manna Aero founder

Bobby Healy says bicycle deliveries jobs lead to a high number of accidents and are ‘not good for the person doing it’

Bobby Healy, founder of Manna Aero: ‘Those gig-economy jobs that involve young men and women on bicycles carrying hamburgers around will reduce, if not fully go away.’ Picture: Andrew Downes

The bicycle delivery business will face an uphill struggle in a new era of drone technology, according to the founder of Manna Aero, the Irish drone delivery company.

Bobby Healy said competitors using gig-economy cyclists for deliveries would be under pressure from drones in the near future. But he said this would be a positive development as “everything about” delivering food and goods by bicycle was “not good for the person doing it”.

“Those gig-economy ...