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Search the Public Notice PortalPrime Air boss David Carbon said Darlington is “not just a model for the UK but a model for Europe” as he cut the ribbon on the tech giant’s ready-to-go drone fleet.
Six months after trial drones started taking to the skies of the town, Amazon says it is now on the verge of being green-lit for a full commercial service.
The global firm is currently operating the aircraft from its fulfilment centre at Symmetry Park as part of a year-long trial granted by aerospace regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
It is now waiting for the CAA approval to conduct full operations, which Amazon Prime Air Vice President David Carbon hopes will be in the “next six weeks”.
On a visit to the 465,000 sq ft Darlington warehouse, he told The Northern Echo he wants to continue to expand the delivery service and the number of deliveries it can do by air.
“We're just on the cusp of getting our approval for a full commercial service, rather than a limited one. It's been going great,” he said.
“[The CAA] have been a fantastic partner and it will be in the next six weeks I expect. But we're close, we're really close.
“We've been at this since 2021, I was involved with the first meeting for this model.
“You crawl, walk, run, right? The first step was to get approval to put the Prime Air delivery centre here [and] we got through that.
“[We] worked with the CAA to work through what the regulatory framework was, how we were going to operate, worked with Teesside Airport [and] had all that lined up.
“It's not the same amount of deliveries we would do in a day or a month in the US, but that's because we don't have our full approval.
“But once we have that, I can see it scaling. Most of our customers are now repeat customers, so that's always an indication that things are heading in the right direction.”
Drones can deliver as far as 12km away from the fulfilment centre, but is only currently able to operate within a ‘slice’ of the radius from the warehouse.
Hundreds of shipments have been delivered across the last six months, with a team of 13 currently managing the flights, which each last around 13 to 14 minutes.
There are currently five drones in operation at the site, one more than when the trial started due to customer demand.
In the US, the average speed of Amazon drone deliveries from a customer pressing a button to the parcel being delivered is 34 minutes.
In Darlington, the firm’s commitment is to deliver within two hours, but currently averages at 90 minutes. It’s quickest flight so far is just 39 minutes from purchase to home.
Mr Carbon said he hopes to scale Darlington in the same way done in the US: “It's the first place in Europe that's doing commercial drone delivery of this nature to populated densities.
”It's not just a model for the UK, it's a model for Europe.”
Darlington Borough Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy Chris McEwan said: “A lot of work has gone into developing this service safely.
“There is still a little bit to complete, but it demonstrates that Darlington is at the forefront yet again in terms of technological developments.”
Amazon first announced it would launch drone deliveries in the UK in 2023 and said the country had strong demand for ultra-fast delivery.
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The retail giant then announced Darlington as the town leading the drone deliveries in January 2025.
Trials were launched in January before the first package was delivered in May.
The firm’s MK30 drones carry packages weighing under 5lb (2.2kg), including everyday items like beauty products, batteries and cables, and deliver them within the 7.5-mile radius.
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