Amazon expands drone delivery service to thousands more UK households

Thousands more households can now receive Amazon Prime Air deliveries in under an hour.

From Tuesday, the service, which is currently available to 600 customers, will be expanded to about 8,000 households in the Darlington area.

The expansion follows the company securing the “world’s first” safety authorisation, which lays the foundations for introducing its drone delivery service across the UK.

Amazon said it had secured a Sail 4 (Specific Assurance and Integrity Level 4) operating authorisation and flightworthiness validation from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The authorisation means drones can fly further and across urban areas.

Theunis Scheepers, Amazon's director for Prime Air in Europe, said it was the “world’s first Sail 4 approval from the UK CAA, a standard that sets a new benchmark for safety in drone aviation”.

“From day one we worked backwards from the most demanding standards, and earning this took years of disciplined engineering and an unwavering commitment to safety,” he said.

“This is the foundation for the future of delivery, and for customers it means getting the things they need quickly, safely and reliably.

“This is just the beginning for Prime Air in the UK.”

The service allows customers to order a range of everyday items from the marketplace and have them delivered to their door in under an hour.

The service is part of the Amazon Prime membership, with no additional delivery fee. Eligible items will be marked on site and at the checkout.

As part of the limited launch in Darlington, Prime Air has been available to customers with a garden, yard or driveway, for items that weigh less than 5lb and fit into a large shoebox.

It had been operating on a different CAA authorisation for flights in less densely populated areas.

Prime Air's all-electric drone, the MK30, has been built using machine-learning models to continuously monitor surroundings throughout each flight, recognising other aircraft, people, animals and physical obstacles.

As it descends to deliver packages, the in-built systems identify and steer clear of hazards such as clotheslines and trampolines that would not appear on a satellite map.

They are also designed to be quieter than a typical delivery, according to Amazon.