Updated: 10th February 2026
Following reports last year that Amazon’s drone delivery fulfilment centre in Darlington, UK, would be the first of its kind in the country, subsequent reports indicated uncertainty about the future of the site. However, the Telegraph has since reported that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has approved changes to the airspace rules in and around Amazon’s new drone-focused fulfilment centre, meaning Amazon drone delivery could come to the UK soon. Read our updated article to learn about Amazon’s original plans for Amazon Prime Air and what has changed since then.
What were Amazon Prime Air’s Original Plans for the UK?
Initially, Amazon Prime Air planned to develop and operate an Amazon drone delivery fulfilment centre just a few miles from Darlington town centre, making it an ideal location to reach its local customer base and enabling Amazon to deliver packages by drone within minutes.
When this article was originally published on the 28th January 2025, we shared the following statement from Amazon:
“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.”
In 2024, the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that Amazon Prime Air were one of the six organisations selected to trial drone operations beyond visual line of sight in a move to test the viability of extended drone use in the UK and make drone operations beyond the operator’s visual line of sight a “safe and everyday reality”.
The Importance of the Timing of Amazon’s Announcement
The announcement came as the regulator was making further progress on its plans to modernise UK airspace. The plan was to use the trials to gather data to inform future regulation, which, in turn, will enable broader use of advanced air mobility technologies.
Commenting on their plans at the time, Amazon 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 relationship with regulators and the communities we serve, and we are working to do the same in the UK.”
At the time, Andrew Heath, Director at Coverdrone, said:
“There is obviously still a long way to go before Amazon’s drones will be flying parcels over Darlington, but it’s good to see this latest announcement and some progress being made. We hope these developments will further support a positive shift towards broader use of advanced air mobility technologies in the UK, with the potential for increased and wider adoption of BVLOS operations in the future.
“As key players in the drone insurance market, we have always been relied on and trusted by drone operators to offer an effective solution that fully meets both their current and long-term insurance needs. Coverdrone has significantly invested in our system capabilities over the years, and this has allowed us to offer quick and efficient quotations and insurance coverage for BVLOS operations for quite some time now. This platform ensures we are well-positioned to support drone operators with their insurance requirements as drone use continues to grow and evolve.”
Challenges for Amazon Prime Air in Darlington
At one point, Amazon considered scaling back its initial drone delivery plans in the UK following pushback from the council and pressure from local groups, which believe drone flights from the fulfilment centre will cause issues for residents.
Amazon has adjusted its plans, halving the drone flight frequency from its original plans. Amazon has told the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that it expects to operate no more than 10 flights per hour from its first site in Darlington, down from its original estimate of up to 21 flights. This is likely in part due to reducing the number of launchpads at the facility from two to one, a situation that arose due to the planning documents for the facility, which show that the Darlington council initially declined to approve the complete construction of the facility in the absence of evidence about how the drones would affect residents, leading to some temporary structures being setup.
Unfortunately for the shopping and logistics giant, it’s not just locals who opposed the fulfilment centre; some model aircraft enthusiasts also opposed the plans, placing Amazon in a difficult position, as they faced opposition from multiple local groups.
What’s next for Amazon Prime Air
At present, it appears Amazon Prime Air is in a much better position, with the CAA giving them the green light to operate in Darlington and the surrounding County Durham area, where the shopping and logistics company plans to offer their drone delivery service. The drone delivery service aims to operate Amazon’s MK30 drones on a rotation of 10 flights per hour, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, with drones taking off from a dedicated Amazon landing pad and flying between 55 and 85 meters above ground.
Amazon chose Darlington as its first location for drone deliveries and applied to the CAA for a six-month trial back in January 2025. While this has been a long road to start deliveries, it could mark the beginning of a logistics revolution in the UK.
Get “Prime” Drone Insurance
While you can’t get Prime drone deliveries to your door throughout the UK just yet, you can choose from some “prime” Drone Insurance options. Click the ‘Get a Quote’ button below to get a quote for your drone insurance today:
