Royal Mail ramps up drone deliveries with 50 new routes

Mr Thompson is already in talks with Network Rail to dramatically increase transportation of letters and parcels by train in a bid to reduce the dependency on lorries.

He said: “On time delivery regardless of our customers location or the weather, whilst protecting our environment is our goal. Even though we go everywhere, Royal Mail already has the lowest CO2 emissions per parcel delivered, this initiative will help reduce our emissions even further.”

Royal Mail has already been conducting drone trials over the last 18 months across four regions: the Isle of Mull in Scotland, on the Isles of Scilly off the Cornish coast and between Kirkwall and North Ronaldsay, on the Orkney Islands.

The Shetland trial saw letters and parcels flow from Tingwall Airport in Lerwick to Unst – a 50-mile flight each way – Britain’s most northerly inhabited island.

The twin-engined drones have a 10-metre wingspan, enabling them to fly in difficult weather conditions. They can carry up to 100kg of mail per trip.

The trials have been bankrolled by taxpayers. The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental government organisation that provides research and innovation funding, gave  the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE) project a grant of £3.7m.