Amazon has launched its first UK drone delivery service, using the MK30 model to deliver packages in under two hours in Darlington, County Durham. The service is currently limited to a 7.5-mile radius around Amazon's fulfilment centre and packages under 5lbs, but the company aims to expand nationwide.
First UK Drone Delivery
Rob Shield, a local farmer, allowed Amazon to use an Airbnb on his property for initial tests. 'Initially it was a novelty, so we were ordering everything under the sun,' he said. 'Pens, paper, chocolates – anything to make it keep coming.' People came to the farm to watch the drone drop off shoebox-sized packages from 12 feet in the air. Shield added, 'Since then, you obviously start realising, 'I actually need something today', like tape measures – we just order it and it comes.'
Advanced Technology and Limitations
The MK30 drone can dodge obstacles like trees, washing lines, people, and other flying objects, using GPS for precise delivery. However, in February 2026, a drone hit an apartment building in Dallas, Texas. David Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, called it 'things that we learn as we go along.' The drone is 'effectively an autonomous drone that can do what a pilot does in a flight deck.'
Amazon has planned drone deliveries for over a decade, with a 2016 trial in Cambridge making a delivery in 13 minutes. The drones are already used in five US states, averaging 36-minute deliveries. In Darlington, Amazon will operate up to 10 flights per hour, or 100 deliveries per day on weekdays.
