The growing use of drones in UK airspace has shown potential positives and downsides. Many businesses have benefitted but there remains apprehension amongst the public who are concerned about their implications for privacy and safety.

In 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) undertook research and forecast the economic effect of drones by 2030 as follows:

• There would be a £42bn net impact on the UK economy.
• There would be £16bn of net cost savings from the uptake of drone technologies.
• There would be 76,000 drones across UK skies.
• There would be potentially 628,000 people working in the drone business space.

This research was updated in 2021 and the forecast savings quantified in various sectors:

• Powerline inspection – 34%
• Mail cargo delivery – 35%
• Last mile delivery – 20%