Amazon has delivered its first parcel by drone in the UK, dropping a small item into a customer's front garden less than two hours after the order was placed. The tech giant is trialling the ultra-fast delivery service, called Prime Air, in Darlington, County Durham.
Eligibility and Requirements
Packages must weigh less than 5 pounds (2.2 kilograms) and fit into the size of a shoebox to be eligible for drone delivery. Customers must have a garden or yard for the parcel to be dropped off in and live within a 7.5-mile radius of Amazon's fulfilment centre.
Drone Technology
Amazon is using its most modern drone, the MK30, which is equipped with sensors that identify and avoid obstacles such as trampolines, washing lines, and other drones. As the drone approaches each drop-off point, it uses GPS to precisely release the package from a height of 12 feet into the customer's garden or yard.
Delivery Speed and Capacity
In the UK, Amazon can deliver parcels by drone in under two hours. In the US, where the system is already operational across five states, the average delivery time is just 36 minutes. The company can carry out up to ten drone flights per hour, or as many as one hundred deliveries a day from Monday to Friday.
Safety and Collaboration
David Carbon from Prime Air said: 'Starting flights in Darlington marks an important milestone in bringing drone delivery to the UK. Safety is our top priority and we have worked closely with Darlington Council and the Civil Aviation Authority. Our MK30 drones are designed to operate quietly and efficiently. We look forward to demonstrating how this innovative technology can serve the people of Darlington while maintaining the highest safety standards.'
Rob Shield allowed Amazon to use an Airbnb on his farm to carry out its first test runs with the drones. He told the BBC: 'Initially it was a novelty, so we were ordering everything under the sun. Pens, paper, chocolates - anything to make it keep coming. Since then, you obviously start realising "I actually need something today" like tape measures and stuff like that you're always losing - we just order it and it comes.'
Broader Context
The NHS is already trialling the use of drones to deliver blood supplies in London, while the Royal Mail has started using the aircraft to send packages to remote communities in Orkney. Amazon chose Darlington to test Prime Air in the UK because it has a mix of residential areas, major roads, and an airport. The trial will run until the end of the year, and the company has secured temporary protected airspace until June, which is expected to be extended.
Local and Regulatory Response
A spokesperson for Darlington Borough Council said: 'It's great to see Darlington at the forefront of such a pioneering scheme which highlights our borough as an area of innovation, development and investment.' Frederic Laugere, head of innovation advisory services at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), previously said: 'Exploring the options of how drones can be safely and successfully incorporated into more of the UK's airspace is key. It is vital that projects such as this take place to feed into the overall knowledge and experiences that will soon enable drones to be operating beyond the line of sight of their pilot on a day-to-day basis, while also still allowing safe and equitable use of the air by other users.'
