Amazon's fleet of drones is increasing six times in the United States and is limited to 100 deliveries per day in the UK.
Amazon has announced plans to provide drone delivery services in nearly 500 cities and towns across the United States by the close of 2026, which is six times its current operational area. The company's only site in the UK, located in Darlington, is currently under investigation by the AAIB for an accident, with its permission from the CAA set to expire on December 31.
According to Amazon, it aims to start drone deliveries in close to 500 American locations by the end of this year, representing a sixfold increase from its present reach of 11 sites in 10 metro areas across seven states. The achievement of its own target is more challenging; Prime Air leader David Carbon mentioned in a March internal meeting that the program intended to complete a million deliveries this year, and Amazon has since stated it has already accomplished hundreds of thousands.
In Europe, the scale is smaller. Amazon has only one site in the UK, in Darlington, despite having promised the service over a decade ago and suggesting years ago that initial flights would occur in the UK and Italy. Its operations there have strict limitations, functioning only on weekdays, with a maximum of 10 flights per hour and 100 deliveries per day, conducted in daylight and suitable weather, and within a 7.5-mile radius.
Moreover, the site is under scrutiny following an incident where an MK30 drone crashed into a garden in Beaumont Hill, Darlington, on July 29, prompting an accident investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Amazon claims that the drone functioned correctly, asserting that it made contact with an object that extended above a moving vehicle's roof before landing safely, resulting in minor damage to a hedge and driveway without any injuries.
The significant date approaches in December when the Civil Aviation Authority's trial authorization for the Darlington site expires on December 31. This renewal decision comes at a time when an accident investigation is ongoing.
The situation in the U.S. also features its share of issues. Last October, two Amazon drones collided with a crane in Tolleson, Arizona, leading to inquiries from the NTSB and FAA, while another drone damaged an internet cable in Waco, Texas, in November. Carbon acknowledged the crane incident, stating, “We trained our algorithms, we felt pretty good, but we found in the real world the performance just wasn’t good enough,” referring to it as a humbling experience.
Additionally, Amazon is no longer the frontrunner it had anticipated becoming. Alphabet's Wing achieved over a million commercial deliveries this year, while Zipline has completed two million across four continents, with discussions ongoing between Zipline and Uber about reaching a million deliveries per day.
The contrast between the two announcements is telling. Amazon can effortlessly include numerous American towns via a blog post, but it cannot add a single location in the UK without prior approval from regulators.
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Amazon's fleet of drones is increasing six times in the United States and is limited to 100 deliveries per day in the UK.
By the end of the year, Amazon will conduct drone deliveries in almost 500 cities across the US. However, its sole location in the UK is under investigation by the AAIB and is due for a CAA renewal in December.