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Royal Mail using drones to reach remote Scottish islands
Anyone who’s travelled around remote Scottish islands such as Jura and Islay will know it can be a challenge getting from ‘a’ to ‘b’ by car or van, especially when the weather ‘comes in’.
Enter the drone – Royal Mail’s latest initiative aimed at delivering packages in a more reliable, efficient and environmentally friendly way.
The trial – partly funded by a £250,000 grant from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – uses a multirotor drone, which can carry payloads of up to 6kg that would normally be transported by van and ferry.
This is the first trial of its kind in which postmen and women load and unload the drone.
Royal Mail is using Extended Visual Line of Sight (EVLOS) flying which uses trained observers to ensure that the drones fly a safe distance from other aircraft and are therefore permitted to travel beyond the standard Visual Line of Sight.
The weather and geography of the Inner Hebrides can impact the ability to provide an uninterrupted delivery service. Problems include ferries – used to transport some mail – often being cancelled during poor weather due to the challenges of docking safely.
Chris Paxton, Royal Mail’s head of drones, said: “Trialling drones allows us to test out new ways of working to support our posties in delivering to the most remote areas of the UK.
“As parcel volumes increase, we are continually looking for new ways to provide a reliable, fast and lower emission service to all our customers no matter where they live.”
In 2020, Royal Mail became the first UK parcel carrier to use a drone to deliver a parcel. The package was successfully despatched to a remote lighthouse on the Isle of Mull with the help of a consortium of drone companies, including Skyports.
Published On: 25/07/2024 13:29:45
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