Amazon starts Prime Air drone deliveries in Phoenix, offering one-hour delivery on 50,000 items under 5 pounds, with restricted availability.
Amazon has launched drone-based deliveries in Arizona, Phoenix, months after stopping its Prime Air drone delivery program in California. Including household, health, tech, and beauty supplies, as long as they weigh 5 pounds or less, starting today, customers in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area can order from a selection of items. almost 50,000 items are available for drone delivery at launch, Amazon states.
Where they’d like their drone-delivered items to reach before checking out, customers can choose. Most deliveries will reach within an hour, launching from Tolleson, according to Amazon. Deliveries are limited to daylight hours and clear weather conditions, however. Drones would not operate during night hours or in heavy winds or rain, An Amazon Spokesperson stated. When drone service is present, customers within designated delivery areas will be informed.
Recently confirmed by the FAA for beyond-line-of-sight operations, Amazon’s new MK30 drone is being used for these deliveries. This drone operates at half the noise level and can fly twice as far as its predecessor which is designed to control rainy conditions. Amazon, additionally, has started using the MK30 in College Station, Texas, where it has been testing prescribed delivery since 2023.
Amazon’s journey with drone delivery is not without difficulties. The program has encountered noise complaints, regulatory issues and internal layoffs. CEO Andy Jassy has slowed the program’s expansion via cost-cutting initiatives. Amazon is now integrating drone deliveries into its same-day delivery network, not depending on dedicated facilities to streamline operations and potentially cut costs.
By the end of 2024, while Amazon previously announced plans to extend Prime Air to the U.K. and Italy, no updates on those plans were given in the latest announcement.
