Royal Mail drone postal service set to 'revolutionise rural communities' launches on Orkney

Letters and parcels are being transported via drones to communities on the archipelago.

A first-of-its-kind drone postal service on Orkney to improve mail distribution to remote areas is underway.

Under the project, known as Orkney I-Port, letters and parcels delivered to the island’s Royal Mail Kirkwall delivery office from the mainland by flight are transported some 14 miles east to Stromness. From here, Skyports Drone Services conduct drone deliveries to Royal Mail staff on the islands Graemsay and Hoy.

From these locations, postal workers then carry out their usual island delivery routes.

This is the first UK drone delivery project which can be conducted on a permanent basis under existing regulatory frameworks (pic: Royal Mail)

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The pioneering operation will initially run for three months, with the intent to extend in the future depending on how it goes.

Postal deliveries arrive from mainland Scotland to Kirkwall Airport via the Loganair RMA Orkney Flyer and are then delivered to residents on Orkney’s main island, mainland or transported to one of the 19 other inhabited islands via ferry or small passenger plane.

However, pauses in the ferry schedule are common during poor weather due the challenges of docking safely. Skyports Drone Services said the new technology would “revolutionise mail services in remote communities”.

The project will initially operate for three months, with the intent to extend in the future (pic: Royal Mail)

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Orkney I-Port involves using the Speedbird Aero DLV-2 aircraft – a multi-rotor drone that is capable of carrying up to 6kg. The new mail distribution service is the first of its kind in the UK to be conducted on a permanent basis under regulatory conditions.

Charlie Alway, Royal Mail customer operations manager for Stromness and the islands, said the modernised service has had positive feedback on the island so far.

"I have been on Orkney for 20 years now and there’s definitely an open-mindedness from people here about new technology," he said. "In 1934 we saw the UK’s first air mail service from Inverness to Kirkwall. Now, almost 100 years later, we are seeing this evolve.”

The landscape of Orkney and the proximity of the islands to one another allows flights to be conducted using extended visual line of sight (EVLOS) permissions rather than beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) permissions (pic: Royal Mail)

Like with the ferries, Mr Alway said there could still be weather incidents that disrupt the drone flights, but overall it should help communities receive their mail quicker.

"This project is also a proof of concept,” he said. "If it proves to be successful, we could start developing the idea more and see larger, heavier items of post be delivered by drones.

"It could then potentially see post coming straight out of Inverness via drones too. That’s a while away, but we could see the benefits of this get even better.”

Mr Alway said the drones had already been running over the past week and that operations had been going smoothly so far.

Chris Paxton, head of drone trials at Royal Mail, said: “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. 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.”

Alex Brown, director of Skyports Drone Services, said: “By leveraging drone technology, we are revolutionising mail services in remote communities, providing more efficient and timely delivery, and helping to reduce the requirement for emissions-producing vehicles. We’re pleased to once again be partnering with Royal Mail to demonstrate how drone operations can benefit UK logistics on this project. The I-Port project also marks an exciting milestone as it is the first operation we are completing with aircraft partner Speedbird.”

Orkney I-Port has been established partnership with Orkney Islands Council Harbour Authority and Loganair.