Amazon seeks to expand drone deliveries in Darlington

The application to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) follows Amazon’s trial of more than 500 flights and deliveries across the town from February this year.

Amazon chose Darlington as its test centre in the UK, launching the trial of a limited number of flights within a 7.5 mile radius of the drone launch pad, which is located at the retailer’s County Durham fulfilment centre.

The trial marked the first time Prime Air had operated outside the USA.

Now Amazon is seeking approval from the CAA to expand the service to cover the whole of Darlington as part of its wider plan to expand the service across the UK.

Under the terms of the Darlington trial, the drones can only deliver packages weighing less than 2.2kg that can fit inside a large shoebox and which contain everyday items such as beauty products, bin liners and cables. Customers ordering drone deliveries must have a garden, yard, or driveway.

The deliveries are made within two hours of being ordered with Amazon staff at the Darlington site claiming their best delivery time so far is 39 minutes.

Amazon uses the MK30 model (pictured), which features sensors to detect and avoid obstacles like trees, washing lines, and trampolines.

David Carbon, vice-president of Prime Air, said the company was “on the precipice” of gaining approval.

He added: “There’s lots of advantages that come with the drone, but most importantly for our customers, we’ve never had a customer say ‘send my package slower’. Speed is always critical.”

Carbon admitted there had been “some incidents” but claimed “it’s not a percentage that is high at all”.

In July it emerged a drone had crashed into a garden in Darlington, which a subsequent investigation found had come into contact with “an object extending above the roof of a moving vehicle”, forcing it to land.

A spokesperson at the time claimed “the drone responded as designed and came safely to the ground” with no one injured.