Skyports Drone Services has been selected to operate the service with Brazilian drone manufacturer Speedbird Aero.

The electric multirotor DLV-2 drone, which has a payload capacity of 6kg and a range of up to 16km, was selected as vehicle of choice for the Orkney I-Port project due to its large payload volume, which makes it well suited to carrying cargo such as Royal Mail parcels. The aircraft is also equipped with a parachute.

The first drone deliveries were completed in July this year and will continue until at least October. The mail is first transported from Royal Mail’s Kirkwall delivery office to Stromness which are both on the Orkney Mainland. Once at Stromness, the drones are used to complete the final step of the journey to transport items over to delivery staff on the islands of Graemsay and Hoy.

The weather and geography of Orkney impacts the ability for Royal Mail to provide an uninterrupted delivery service for its residents and pauses in...