In a UK first, pupils in remote parts of Argyll and Bute could soon be receiving drone delivered school dinners.

The council is partnering with drone specialists Skyports to trial the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in delivering school meals.

Flying from Oban Airport, the the drone delivered school dinners will be prepared in Park Primary School in Oban and delivered to Lochnell Primary, located 1.5km away.

Currently, the provision of school meals to some rural and remote schools relies on methods of transport including vans, taxis, and ferries, which can be affected by weather conditions.

All P1-P5 pupils are entitled to free school meals, as are all pupils in early years as part of Scotland’s 1,140 hours a year of childcare scheme.

Commenting on the news, Councillor Robin Currie, Leader of Argyll and Bute Council: “We are committed to connecting remote and island communities to vital mainland services. The possibilities of using UAVs to improve services to our communities is quite staggering.

“Argyll and Bute is the perfect location to test the efficiency of drone technology. We have already seen how drones can deliver essential medical supplies to our islands and now we want to make sure all pupils have access to healthy school meals.

“This is just the start of what is possible using drones as we look to create the UK’s first UAV logistics and training Hub at Oban Airport. From maintaining our assets including roads and bridges to inspecting offshore wind farms, developing the use of drones will help develop skills, create jobs and attract further and investment to the area.”

Using drone technology has huge benefits for the Scottish Isles and could help the council to deliver meals to all remote and island schools reducing current delivery times and costs and help contingency planning in emergencies.

Additionally, drone technology also offers an alternative carbon free mode of transport, as they are fully electric.

Drone trials are part of plans for the council to create a UAV Innovations logistics Hub at Oban Airport.

As part of the plans, the council received £170,000 of UK Government Community Renewal funding to create a detailed planning application with full design and costings to bid to the UK Levelling Up Fund. New funding will enable the construction of the hub by March 2025.

The plans build on the £70 million Argyll and Bute Rural Growth Deal proposal, which includes plans for a vertiport take-off and landing facility at the airport.

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Alex Brown, Head of Drone Deliveries at Skyports, said: “With this latest partnership to transport school meals by drone, we are building on our 2020/2021 efforts to further demonstrate the broad use cases for UAV delivery applications in rural locations.

“Initial flights, carried out using one of our Swoop Aero Kookaburra III aircraft, will enable us to complete important proof of concept and feasibility trials. While the aircraft has a maximum payload of 3kg – clearly not sufficient for feeding a classroom of hungry students – this is an important stage in the development of deliveries of this type. The learnings from this early stage of the project will help to pave the way for wider-scale operations.

“Argyll and Bute Council’s readiness to explore how drone services can improve and enhance the lives of people across the local authority, combined with Skyports’ expertise and hundreds of flight hours in the region, makes this an exciting project with infinite benefits.”

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