The US tech giant said it was now lodging planning applications with the local authority and was seeking clearance from the Civil Aviation Authority for the drone-based delivery service, which is known as Prime Air
Darlington has been selected as the preferred location for Amazon’s drone delivery service in the UK.
The American tech giant announced that it is currently submitting planning applications to the local council and seeking approval from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for its drone-based delivery initiative, known as Prime Air. So far, Prime Air has been successfully launched in two US locations, delivering packages in under an hour using a fleet of drones designed, built, and operated by Amazon.
In addition to securing planning permissions, the company plans to engage with the local community to address queries and gather feedback on the service. An Amazon spokesperson said: “We are ready and excited to make drone delivery a reality for our UK customers.
“We have built safe and reliable drone delivery services elsewhere in the world in close partnership with regulators and the communities we serve, and we are working to do the same in the UK. We are announcing that Prime Air is taking steps to start planning for initial flights from our fulfilment centre in Darlington.
“A planning application will be lodged with the local authority which will seek permission to build our flight operations facilities at the site, along with applying for authorisation from the Civil Aviation Authority to fly a drone in the airspace.
“Once those agreements are in place, we will be able to begin hiring team members to launch drone delivery. We’ll continue to work closely with the CAA as they develop the regulatory framework to make commercial drone delivery a reality in the UK. In the meantime, we will also engage with the Darlington community to answer questions and collect feedback as we seek to offer this new option for delivery.
“You can find out more about our plans for drone delivery by visiting an event at the Central Hall, in the Dolphin Centre, on February 5, from 1pm until 7pm.”
Customers within the service’s reach will have the choice to opt in, as Amazon assures that the service will be optional and interested shoppers can sign up via their current Amazon accounts.
However, when asked about specific timelines, the company said: “We have nothing more to share [on timeframe] at this time, but we will engage with the community to answer questions and collect feedback as we seek to offer this new option for delivery,” the A
The tech titan has been at the forefront of aerial innovation, recalling its first autonomous Prime Air delivery in Cambridgeshire back in 2016 during a trial run.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “We are grabbing the opportunities and the optimism of the tech revolution – so it’s no surprise that Amazon has chosen Darlington as the location to launch Prime Air in the UK.”
“We have worked tirelessly with Amazon to bring this UK first to Teesside which will support high-quality jobs, deliver vital multi-million-pound investment in our local economy and drive growth across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”
