Amazon made public on Monday that it had chosen the town of Darlington, in the north of England, as the first location to expand its Prime Air drone delivery service in the United Kingdom. The company had planned to start operations in the United Kingdom and Italy in 2024, but after failing to meet that initial target, it chose not to release a new launch schedule.
According to the company's statement, the service is still in its early stages and “much work to be done” before it can be implemented. Amazon has not yet submitted the planning application to the local authorities or to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), an entity equivalent to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States.
“Once these agreements are in place, we will begin hiring team members to launch drone delivery,” the company said. Amazon has designated a specific logistics center in Darlington to support the new operation and plans to gather feedback from local residents on expanding the service.
As in the United States, UK air regulations represent a significant initial challenge for expanding Prime Air. For this reason, Amazon chose to test the service in smaller cities and towns, avoiding the most highly regulated airspaces, such as those of London or New York.
Prime Air launched in June 2022 in Lockeford, California, and expanded to College Station, Texas, the following month. However, the company ceased operations in California in April 2024, less than two years after its launch, justifying the decision as a way to “prioritize resources”. The service remained active in College Station and, in November 2024, was launched in West Valley, Phoenix. Amazon also mentioned plans for a third U.S. location, which has not yet been officially announced.
Prime Air has made “thousands” of deliveries, with a target time of less than an hour, using drones developed in-house. Once the service is up and running, residents of Darlington will be able to select the Prime Air option for certain products through Amazon U.K.
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