Royal Mail, Skyports begin first ‘permanent’ UK drone post delivery

The UK’s Royal Mail and Skyports Drone Services have launched what is being hailed as the nation’s first permanent UAV delivery operation conducted “under existing regulatory frameworks,” with the initiation of postal distribution flights between Scotland’s Orkney Islands. 

Revealed last April as a projected plan, Royal Mail said Tuesday regular postal flights by Skyports had begun within the Orkney chain. Those UAV shuttles are replacing ferry transport that had been relied on to distribute letters and parcels between individual islands after being flown in from the Scottish mainland to the main town of Kirkwall. 

The aerial assets are expected to increase the speed postal transfers to outlying islands – and at lower cost – while also withstanding rough weather in the area that often can make docking of marine vessels too dangerous to attempt.

Read: Skyports to run Orkney’s interisland drone delivery for Royal Mail

The initial phase of the interisland drone deliveries known as the Orkney I-Port project is set to last for three months, but Royal Mail is calling it a permanent service because it plans to extend the scheme indefinitely once the opening period ends. 

Under the system, Skyport UAVs will be flown using regulator-granted extended visual line of sight authorizations rather than beyond visual line of sight waivers – an exception made possible by both the terrain of Orkney’s islands and their proximity to one another.  

The operation marks the first time Royal Mail has announced regular, open-ended drone delivery of post to island communities. Its earlier trials, like those to the southern Iles of Scilly and Scotland’s Isle of Mull, were framed by COVID-19 pandemic conditions requiring temporarily improvised transport solutions to safely access remote destinations. 

Read: UK’s Royal Mail testing long-distance drone delivery

Royal Mail’s Orkney network with Skyports is expected to be the first link in a chain of UAV postal routes providing faster, regular drone delivery service to farther-flung localities around the UK.

“We are proud to be working with Skyports to deliver via drone to some of the more remote communities that we serve in the UK,” said Chris Paxton, Royal Mail’s head of drone initiatives. “Using a fully electric drone supports Royal Mail’s continued drive to reduce emissions associated with our operations, whilst connecting the island communities we deliver to.”

For its part, Skyports has introduced a new drone manufacturing partner as part of its launch of Royal Mail activities around the Orkney Islands. 

In announcing the start of operations, the company said it has paired up with Brazilian UAV maker Speedbird Aero, whose DLV-2 craft was chosen for its relatively large six-kilogram payload, 16-kilometer flight, and foul weather resilience capacities. 

 Read: Skyports adds Pyka heavy payload delivery drones to its fleet

Its link-up with Speedbird Aero drones is the most recent diversification of Skyport’s fleet, which in the past has used Swoop Aero UAVs, and last January invested in Pyka Pelican Cargo craft.

“Our approach to fleet development is to onboard a select number of vehicle providers that can match market growth, scale with us, and meet the requirements of the locations in which we operate,” said Skyports director Alex Brown. “Speedbird is an example of the type of manufacturer we love to work with; the company’s commitment to quality, safety and innovation make it best-in-class and an excellent addition to our fleet. The Orkney I-Port project, with its renowned project partners and objective of improving community access with drones, is a great place to kick off the partnership.”