Amazon has officially launched its first drone delivery service in the UK, with selected customers in Darlington, County Durham, now able to receive parcels by air within hours of ordering.The pilot program uses Amazon’s newest MK30 drones to fly lightweight packages directly to homes within a 7.5-mile radius of the company’s local fulfillment center. Eligible items currently include small household products such as batteries, toiletries and electronic accessories weighing less than 2.2kg.This launch marks Amazon’s first drone delivery outside the United States and comes after years of development and testing.
Local farmer Rob Shield, who allowed Amazon to conduct early experiments with Airbnb on his land, said the service initially attracted interest simply because of its novelty.“At first it was new, so we were ordering everything under the sun,” Schild told the BBC. “Pens, paper, chocolate – anything to make it keep coming.”He said that drones later became useful to meet urgently needed daily needs.
Amazon’s MK30 drones are designed to fly autonomously using onboard sensors and GPS systems that help them navigate around obstacles like trees, clotheslines and buildings before dropping off packages at parks or designated drop zones.David Carbone, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, said the company sees fast delivery as a growing customer expectation.“What’s for sure is that people never tell us they want their stuff to be slower.”“If you have kids and you want a fever fix, you want it. You don’t want to drive to the store,” he added.The company said it currently plans to operate a maximum of 10 flights per hour in Darlington, which equates to around 100 deliveries per day on weekdays.Amazon first trialled drone delivery in Cambridge in 2016, completing an early delivery test in just 13 minutes. The technology is already active in five US states, where average delivery times are around 36 minutes.However, the system also faced technical setbacks. Earlier this year, one of the MK30s struck the side of an apartment building in Dallas, Texas, after veering off course during a delivery. No injuries were reported.