Royal Mail, the UK postal service, has extended its partnership with Skyports, a UK-based drone-based delivery services provider, to reportedly extend the UK's first commercial drone mail service in Orkney, Scotland, until at least February 2026.

The Orkney project, launched in August 2023, has completed over 500 flights covering 1,360 km (845 mi). It provides daily inter-island mail distribution between Stromness on Orkney's Mainland and the islands of Graemsay and Hoy, improving delivery times by up to 24 hours in the rural region.

The extension, funded by the UK Space Agency's CROFT project, will focus on hardware and software upgrades, remote pilot operations, new take-off points, and training Royal Mail staff to manage drone-related tasks. It also aims to explore how 5G technologies can enable rural drone operations.

Analyst QuickTake: Skyports and Royal Mail first partnered in December 2020 to trial drones on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, and again in May 2021 , when they trialed drone-based deliveries on the Isle of Scilly, UK. In addition to Orkney, the duo also partnered to provide drone-based delivery services in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, in July 2024 .