Global technology giant Amazon has announced its first UK drone deliveries will take place in Darlington.
The plan unveiled on Tuesday is being hailed as a major international coup by Tees Valley’s Tory mayor Lord Ben Houchen, and comes after his decision to take Teesside Airport back into public ownership.
Lord Houchen has led an 18-month bid to secure the project which, if successful, could soon be rolled out across the rest of the UK.
Amazon confirmed its Darlington fulfilment centre will host the maiden UK flights of Prime Air – its drone-based delivery service which has been operating in the US since 2022.
Prime Air will see autonomous drones carry out same-day 30-minute deliveries from warehouse to customers’ homes across the area.
Planning permission and authorisation from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the lightweight delivery service will now be sought ahead of the start of operations.
Lord Houchen said: “I am delighted that Teesside will become home to Amazon’s first UK Drone delivery service.
“In Teesside, we do things differently. We say yes when others say it’s too difficult. We are positive, ambitious, and we deliver.
“We are grabbing the opportunities and the optimism of the tech revolution – so it's no surprise that Amazon has chosen Darlington as the location to launch Prime Air in the UK.
"We have worked tirelessly with Amazon to bring this UK first to Teesside which will support high-quality jobs, deliver vital multi-million-pound investment in our local economy and drive growth across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.
“The world is moving at pace - and if we don’t keep up, we will be left behind. If you’re not first, you’re last.”
Amazon announced its intention to bring its drone service to the UK in 2023, with Tees Valley leading the bids to be chosen as the location.
Teesside International Airport has supported the rollout of the drone service through advice and guidance on local air operations from senior management and the air traffic control team.
An Amazon spokesperson 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 partnership with regulators and the communities we serve, and we are working to do the same in the UK.
“We are announcing that Prime Air is taking steps to start planning for initial flights from our fulfilment centre, in Darlington.
“While there is still much work to do, this is an exciting step forward. 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 CAA 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.”
