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Ireland’s parcel network is under strain and the warning signs have been building for some time. Consumer behaviour has changed dramatically with more frequent online purchases, unpredictable spikes in volume and an expectation of faster, cheaper, seven-day delivery. What has not kept pace is the underlying logistics architecture. Most operators still rely on models built for a different era.
That mismatch between modern demand and legacy systems means almost every delivery operator is now exposed to systemic risk.
Profitability is being eroded by inflation. Parcel frequency is outpacing network capacity. Operators with universal service mandates, such as national postal services, must deliver everywhere even when those routes lose money. The result is a sector where even a small disruption can have rapid and widespread consequences.
Fastway’s collapse in October last year demonstrated this vulnerability in the starkest terms. The failure left an estimated 50,000 parcels stranded and hundreds of subcontractors suddenly without income, putting immediate pressure on Ireland’s peak Christmas delivery season.
Over the recent Christmas period, An Post warned of additional strain as it absorbed redirected volumes during the busiest trading period of the year – this highlighted the pressure on the national network when a single operator fails.
If demand continues to rise, and all indicators point in that direction, these pressures will only intensify. Ireland’s population is growing, e-commerce adoption continues to expand and customers increasingly expect next-day and same-day delivery as standard. Without structural change, the system will continue to operate close to breaking point.
The only sustainable path is upward into our skies. Operators need to think about utilising technology, automation and smarter use of growing parcel volumes to redesign how logistics works, especially on the routes that consistently lose money.
Autonomous aircraft – drones – offer one of the few practical ways to transform the economics of these problematic segments, including long rural detours, scattered deliveries and low-density routes that erode margins across the industry.
Ireland isn’t an outlier. The economic model is under visible pressure across Europe, too. In the UK, Royal Mail has once again fallen short of its regulatory targets, delivering only 77 per cent of first-class and 92.5 per cent of second-class mail on time in 2024–25. In the Netherlands, PostNL has warned that its universal service requirement will lead to structural losses, arguing that the existing model is no longer viable.
These two developments of our near neighbours alone point to a shared problem that networks built for letter-based systems are being stretched by rising parcel volumes, more frequent delivery expectations and geographically dispersed demand. In Ireland, the need to strengthen system resilience has become more urgent. A realistic, not futuristic, approach involves integrating drones into existing delivery networks to handle the most challenging segments.
My own Shannon-based company, Iona, is developing drones with airframes manufactured in Galway. These aircraft can carry up to 20 parcels over distances of 100km-plus, taking off and landing vertically but flying efficiently at fixed-wing speeds. They are supported by robotic hubs and an AI-driven control platform designed to work with existing depot and routing systems.
The purpose of such systems is not to replace delivery vans but to support them. Vans remain optimal for dense urban routes and bulkier items. Autonomous drones, however, can serve the thin routes that consistently erode profitability because of long detours for a single rural parcel, island deliveries or urgent medical consignments that cannot wait for the next scheduled dispatch.
Absorbing these high-cost segments means drones can shorten ground routes, reduce pressure on drivers and maintain service levels in parts of the country where traditional logistics models face the greatest difficulty.
The feasibility of this combined approach will depend heavily on regulation. Several major EU policy initiatives are already moving into place. The EU Drone Strategy 2.0 and the roll-out of U-space, the digital management layer for low-altitude aircraft, are progressing. These frameworks aim to create a co-ordinated digital sky capable of safely managing large numbers of unmanned aircraft for commercial purposes.
Logistics companies will sooner or later need to explore hybrid fleet models to improve their resilience. They will want to be capable of withstanding the next Fastway collapse or the next major storm that knocks out a vital link, like that experienced in recent years when Storm Darragh caused serious damage to Holyhead Port.
Fastway’s collapse has underscored how vulnerable Ireland’s logistics system can be when a single failure occurs. With similar pressures visible in the UK and in mainland Europe, the opportunity now is to build a more robust, diversified delivery network that can withstand demand, geographical challenges and the economic realities of a changing sector.
What comes next will depend on strategic vision as much as technology. Drone-enabled logistics is no longer a hypothetical future or a thing of Hollywood movies.
It is arriving through shifts in regulation, investment and operational need, whether traditional operators feel ready for it or not. The question for Ireland is not whether drones will enter the delivery system, but whether the country chooses to shape that integration on its own terms.
Etienne Louvet is chief executive of IONA
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