Amazon Delivers First Package by Drone

Amazon has sent a package to the doorstep of one of its customers in the UK for the first time using a drone. This flight marks the beginning of a trial period for delivering customer purchases via drone in rural areas of England. Amazon has named this new service 'Prime Air'. According to USA Today, the first package was sent to a farm located five miles from Amazon's drone testing center in Cambridge. Currently, these drones deliver packages weighing less than five pounds (approximately 2.5 kilograms) within thirty minutes of receiving an order. This trial, conducted on December 7, was overseen by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Amazon has stated that this authority has agreed to allow the delivery of these packages in rural areas if it is satisfied with the safety of the flights. At this stage, drone deliveries are only being made for two customers living near the Amazon testing center. The company hopes to increase the number of test flights in the coming months and deliver custom goods to more people living within a few miles of the center. According to The Guardian, these test flights must only be conducted during daylight hours, and weather conditions will also play a role in their permission to fly. For example, these drones are not allowed to fly on rainy, snowy, or windy days. Permission for these test flights in the UK was granted in early summer. Amazon has stated that it intends to start drone delivery services to customers' homes in rural areas and then expand these services to suburban areas and eventually to larger and smaller cities. While test flights are underway in the UK, Amazon hopes to persuade other countries to join this market. Amazon first announced its intention to deliver customer packages by drone in 2013, but it requires three to four years to develop this technology.