Amazon plans to start delivering packages by drone in the UK and Italy by the end of next year. Currently, Amazon Prime Air only delivers to two relatively small places in America, although a third location should be added next year.
Unlike the two US locations where Amazon Prime Air currently operates, there are no plans to build dedicated drone delivery centers in Italy and the UK. states Amazon. Instead, the drones must be deployed at existing distribution centers. This should make it possible to have a wider range of products delivered by drone, the tech giant says.
The intention is that there will initially be one distribution center with delivery drones in both countries, with more to follow over time. Amazon says it will announce at a later date in which cities in Italy, the UK and the US it should be possible to have packages delivered by drone from the end of 2024. When the option is available, customers can choose to have products weighing up to 5 pounds, approximately 2.27 kilograms, delivered by drone via Amazon Prime Air. In the US, these products are delivered within an hour, Amazon says.
Amazon says it will work closely with regulators in the new locations to ensure the service complies with all regulations. Earlier this year it was reported that drones in the US can be used for a very limited number of addresses due to regulations there. Amazon started Prime Air at the end of 2022. Since then, the service has only been active in the towns of Lockeford and College Station, which together have a population of about 125,000. An Amazon spokesperson reports to The Verge that it now has ‘thousands’ of Prime Air customers and has delivered thousands of packages by drone. CNBC wrote in May that the drone had only made a hundred deliveries at that time.
Amazon currently uses a hexagonal MK27-2 delivery drone with six propellers, even if the company wants replaced by the MK30 at the end of 2024. According to Amazon, this model is faster, quieter and lighter than its predecessor. For example, it must fly twice as fast, make half the noise and be able to land in smaller gardens. The MK30 is also resistant to more weather conditions. This should make it possible to opt for drone delivery even in light rain, and at higher and lower temperatures than is currently possible.
Amazon’s MK30 delivery drone