Amazon announced Monday it has chosen Darlington, a town in north England, as the first site for its planned U.K. drone delivery expansion.
Initially, Amazon planned to expand Prime Air to the U.K. and Italy by 2024, but that timeline was missed. The company has not provided a new timeline for the launch, stating that it is still in the early stages and there is more work to be done. Amazon has yet to submit its planning application to local authorities or the Civil Aviation Authority in the U.K.
The company mentioned that once the necessary agreements are in place, they will start hiring team members for the drone delivery launch. A specific fulfillment center has been designated in the town with a population of 107,000, and Amazon plans to gather feedback from Darlington residents about the expansion.
Similar to the U.S., regulatory approval in the U.K. is a crucial factor for Amazon’s expansion plans. This is why they have chosen smaller cities and towns for trials instead of more regulated urban airspace, such as New York or London.
Prime Air started in June 2022 in Lockeford, California, and expanded to College Station, Texas the following month.
Although Amazon halted drone deliveries in California in April 2024, they continue in College Station and launched in West Valley Phoenix in November. Amazon has hinted at a third U.S. location but has not yet confirmed it.
Prime Air has delivered “thousands” of packages with a target delivery time of under an hour using in-house built drones. Once operational, Darlington residents can opt for the Prime Air delivery option for select items through Amazon U.K.
