Amazon to launch delivery drones in the UK next year

Amazon cut a large part of its UK team working on drones in 2021, while mass redundancies at the company earlier this year also hit its Prime Air team.

The project has faced delays and regulatory hurdles, while a number of its drones have crashed during field testing.

However, Amazon began its first drone package deliveries in the US last December under approval from the US Federal Aviation Authority.

Its initial US trials have been heavily limited by restrictions, such as stopping drones flying over roads without supervision.

In the UK, Amazon was beaten to a first commercial launch by Royal Mail and the company Skyports, which collaborated to launch a drone delivery service in the Orkney Islands over the summer.

Currently, drone projects in the UK cannot fly outside of line of sight of their operators except under strict test conditions, severely limiting the opportunity for autonomous deliveries.

On Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced a series of pilot projects to allow flights beyond line of sight. The trials could ultimately lead to drones flying alongside commercial air traffic.

Amazon on Wednesday also revealed a new drone design, the MK30, which it said was smaller, quieter and lighter than its previous models.

David Carbon, vice president of Amazon’s Prime Air, said: “We are excited to announce the expansion of Prime Air delivery internationally, for the first time outside the US.”

Amazon is not the only company targeting drone deliveries in the UK. The Telegraph revealed in September that Manna, an Irish start-up, planned to launch drone deliveries in the UK next year and had made a licence application to the CAA.

Google’s drone division – Wing – is currently operating in Ireland and intends to expand to the UK.