Clear for takeoff? Amazon gets green light to test-fly delivery drones in UK

Amazon has been given the green light to test-fly drones beyond a human controller’s line of sight in the UK, paving the way for using the machines to deliver packages to homes.

The online retailer is one of six organisations taking part in a trial led by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), with other projects including the inspection of offshore windfarms, air traffic control, policing and delivering emergency medical supplies.

Kirkwall airport in the Orkney islands will be one of the projects, testing how drones and other aircraft might operate safely alongside each other.

The regulator said all the schemes will use “advanced technologies” for tasks including navigation and the detection of other aircraft in a controlled environment as it aims to finalise regulations for wider use of drones.

The trials will gather key safety data, such as how drones detect and avoid other aircraft, and the electronic signals they can send to be visible to other airspace users and communicate with air traffic control.

Sophie O’Sullivan, director of future of flight at the CAA, said: “These innovative trials mark a significant step forward in integrating drones safely into UK airspace.

“By supporting projects ranging from consumer deliveries to critical infrastructure inspections, we are gathering essential data to shape future policies and regulations.

“Our goal is to make drone operations beyond visual line of sight a safe and everyday reality, contributing to the modernisation of UK airspace and the incorporation of new technology into our skies.”

Amazon said last year it wanted to launch home deliveries via drone in the UK and Italy before the end of 2024.

It already offers drone deliveries in the US, in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas.

However, it is nearly eight years since the tech company announced the completion of its first commercial drone delivery in Cambridge. The company scaled back the UK arm of its drone division, Prime Air, in 2021.

David Carbon, the vice-president and general manager of Prime Air, said: “It’s crucial for operators like us to have clear regulatory requirements in order to bring and scale new technologies, such as drone delivery, to customers in the UK.

“We appreciate the CAA’s effort to partner with us to help bring clarity to the regulations that support commercial drone delivery.”