Amazon has begun the process of distributing its parcels by drone in the UK. The US firm is rolling out plans to trial the service, starting in the UK town of Darlington.
The drone service, called Prime Air, already operates in two locations in America. The parcels are delivered in an hour or less using drones designed, built and operated by Amazon.
The company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has revealed its submission of a planning application to build drone flight operations at its preexisting fulfilment centre in the North East of England. Amazon is now reportedly seeking approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the flights.
An Amazon spokesperson said the company is “ready and excited to make drone delivery a reality for our UK customers.”
“We have built safe and reliable drone delivery services elsewhere in the world in close partnership with regulators and the communities we serve, and we are working to do the same in the UK,” they added.
“We are announcing that Prime Air is taking steps to start planning for initial flights from our fulfilment centre in Darlington.
“While there is still much work to do, this is an exciting step forward.”
The US company has pledged to talk to the local community in Darlington for feedback on the project, and it plans to hold a community event at the beginning of February.
Once planning permission and approval from the CAA is received, Amazon said it would begin the hiring process of employees to launch the drone service.
The mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, has said he has worked closely with the US company and Teesside International Airport over the past 18 months on the project.
He said: “I am delighted that Teesside will become home to Amazon’s first UK drone delivery service.
“In Teesside, we do things differently. We say yes when others say it’s too difficult. We are positive, ambitious, and we deliver.
“We are grabbing the opportunities and the optimism of the tech revolution – so it’s no surprise that Amazon has chosen Darlington as the location to launch Prime Air in the UK.
“We have worked tirelessly with Amazon to bring this UK first to Teesside which will support high-quality jobs, deliver vital multi-million-pound investment in our local economy and drive growth across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.
“The world is moving at pace – and if we don’t keep up, we will be left behind. If you’re not first, you’re last.”
