The UK will be the site of Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery trial.

• Six organizations, including Amazon, will participate in a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of drone flights for delivering goods to remote areas.
• The trial will collect information on how drones detect and evade other aircraft and the electronic signals that can be transmitted to make them visible to other airspace users and air traffic control.
• Over a decade ago, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, revealed his plans for the company's drone delivery service, Prime Air.

Six other organizations, in addition to the original six, have been chosen to participate in a trial examining the potential of drones in the U.K.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of the UK announced on Thursday that a trial will be conducted to integrate drones that fly beyond the visual line of sight of their operators into UK airspace. This implies that operators will not need to monitor the drones.

The CCA stated that these flights employ advanced technology for navigation, control, and detecting other aircraft.

The trial includes projects that offer services for remote infrastructure, including offshore windfarms, North Sea inspections, and emergency medical supply delivery.

The director of future of flight at the U.K. CCA, Sophie O'Sullivan, stated that our objective is to make drone operations beyond visual line of sight a safe and routine occurrence, which will modernize UK airspace and integrate new technology into our skies.

The trial will collect information on how drones detect and evade other aircraft and the electronic signals that can be transmitted to make them visible to other airspace users and air traffic control.

According to Simon Masters, future flight challenge deputy director at U.K. Research and Innovation, flights have the potential to revolutionize the way goods and services are delivered, especially in areas with limited connectivity. He emphasized that the program is crucial for CCA's broader Airspace Modernisation Strategy, which aims to make U.K. airspace suitable for the future.

More than a decade ago, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, conceived the idea for Prime Air, the company's drone delivery service.

The e-commerce giant announced in October 2020 that its customers in the U.K. and Italy would have the option to receive their packages delivered by drones from late 2024. However, the company does not currently have permission to operate drones in the U.K.

"Clear regulatory requirements are essential for operators like us to introduce and expand new technologies, such as drone delivery, to customers in the UK, said David Carbon, vice president and general manager of Amazon Prime Air. We value the CAA's collaboration with us to provide clarity to the regulations that facilitate commercial drone delivery."

The expansion of Prime Air's package delivery program in College Station, Texas and Lockeford, California has faced regulatory hurdles, delays, and the departure of some executives.

Last year, in the U.S., a substantial number of Prime Air employees were released as part of the company's largest round of layoffs. Additionally, the service faces competition from Wing, a Google parent subsidiary, and Zipline, with whom they have partnered for drone deliveries.