Amazon has become the UK’s first retailer to make deliveries via drone following a series of customer trials.
The firm first sought permission to launch drones from its Darlington fulfilment centre in early 2025 after using them for deliveries at various locations across the US for several years.
Its service in Arizona does not give customers access to everything the site sells, and is limited to around “50,000 everyday essentials”. The available products included household and beauty items, as well as office and tech supplies. Customers who lived near the warehouse could purchase any eligible item weighing 2.2kg or less for delivery in under an hour.
The same weight restrictions will apply for the UK launch, and are limited to customers living within a 12km radius of Amazon’s fulfilment centre. It will also use the firm’s MK30 drones, which were developed in-house over a two-year period. The drones have been designed to operate autonomously, with sense-and-avoid technology allowing them...