Delivering by drone
In a landmark move, Royal Mail has become the first UK parcel carrier to use a drone to deliver a parcel – a first, which has been described as an “amazing” development for us, writes Paul Smith.
The Isle of Mull, part of the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, was the scenic destination of the initial flight using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). You can see the historic delivery by watching this feature film.
We have partnered with a consortium of established UK drone companies to realise the initial flight, which saw the single-parcel delivery reach customer Alexa Kershaw at Rubha nan Gall Lighthouse Cottage. DronePrep bring interested parties together, Skyports run the drones, and what3words, ask recipients to provide an address – a three-metre by three-metre square – that corresponds to the precise landing point for delivery of our parcels via the drone from the Royal Mail van.
Postman Tom Nunn passed the parcel to the drone for the initial delivery. Working on the Isle of Mull, he believes this is a welcome innovation.
‘There are houses in the forests and sometimes it can take you 20-30 minutes to walk to the destination,’ he said. ‘Bringing drones is a good investment in my eyes. It can help the posties out – why not achieve higher goals and higher aims and get the job completed?’
‘This is an amazing UK-first development,’ added chief commercial officer Nick Landon. ‘It’s a brilliant first by Royal Mail.’
In the New Year, we will engage with residents to explore the viability of using drones to deliver to rural communities on the Isle of Mull.
Alexa, our first customer, is already sold, saying: ‘When we need things in a hurry it can take a while. New technology to get deliveries of parcels or important post out to rural, remote locations is important. It could be a game changer.’
As with all Royal Mail deliveries across the UK, the postcode will route the parcel towards its destination. The local postie will then use drone delivery to reach the most remote locations in their patch faster.
Nick added: ‘We’ve seen a huge increase in parcel volumes this year and this is just one of the ways we are looking at to support our frontline delivery staff and deliver fast, convenient and green services for all of our customers.’
