Royal Mail Reveals Vision for Drone Routes

Royal Mail has set out its ambition to scale up its use of drone technology and create more than 50 new postal drone routes over the next three years, subject to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval.

As part of a new partnership with logistics drone company Windracers, Royal Mail will operate Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to provide faster and more convenient services for customers in remote communities.

UAVs can help further reduce Royal Mail’s carbon emissions and improve the reliability of island mail services, the collaboration added. The first routes identified for the new service include the Isles of Scilly, Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and the Hebrides.

Subject to CAA approval and the on-going planned improvement in UAV economics, Royal Mail is aiming to secure more than 50 drone routes supported by up to 200 drones over the next three years. Longer term, the ambition is to deploy a fleet of more than 500 drones servicing all corners of the UK.

Royal Mail has already conducted four drone trials over the last 18 months including flights on the Isle of Mull in Scotland, on the Isles of Scilly off the Cornish coast and between Kirkwall and North Ronaldsay, on the Orkney Islands.

The latest trial was held in April on the Shetland Islands in partnership with Windracers. Test flights for the new service saw Royal Mail deliver mail between Tingwall Airport in Lerwick to Unst – a 50-mile flight each way. Unst has a population of around 630 people and is Britain’s most northerly inhabited island.

With a capability to fly in difficult weather conditions, the twin-engine UAV used in the trial has a wingspan of 10m (30ft) and an autopilot system. The UAVs can carry up to 100kg of mail of all shapes and sizes for two daily return flights between the islands.