Amazon has announced that it will start its UK drone delivery service from its fulfilment centre in Darlington once it gets approval.

It said that there is still work to be done to roll out Prime Air in the UK, with the company planning to lodge a planning application with the local authority to build flight operations facilities at the site.

Additionally, Amazon will apply for authorisation from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to fly drones in the airspace.

Once those agreements are in place, Amazon said it will begin hiring team members to launch drone delivery.

When the service is live, customers within the service area will be able to order items directly from the Amazon app or website.

“We’ll continue to work closely with the CAA as they develop the regulatory framework to make commercial drone delivery a reality in the UK,” Amazon said. “In the meantime, we will also engage with the Darlington community to answer questions and collect feedback as we seek to offer this new delivery option.”

Since launching its US Prime Air service in 2022, the company has delivered thousands of packages to customers in 60 minutes or less using a fleet of electric drones it designed and built.

In October 2023, Amazon said it aimed to roll out drone deliveries in the UK by the end of 2024.

The company was one of six chosen by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to trial drone deliveries in the UK in August 2024.

The authority said the move was part of its plans to "modernise UK airspace" and enable integration of new technology the skies.

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