Amazon Prime Air Drone Delivery
Photo credit: Jordan Stead / Amazon
Amazon Prime Air has just received Federal Aviation Administration approval to start commercial drone deliveries of small packages. The online retailer has been conducting regular delivery drone tests since 2013 with the ultimate goal of using the flying machines to deliver items in just 30 minutes, first in low-population areas with packages weighing no more than 5 pounds. Read more for two videos and additional information.



The company stated that while the Prime Air drone fleet isn’t quite ready to immediately deploy package deliveries at scale, it’s actively flying and testing the technology to ensure smooth operations. One competitor is Alphabet-owned Wing, who became the first drone delivery company to receive FAA approval for commercial deliveries in the US last April.

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This certification is an important step forward for Prime Air and indicates the FAA’s confidence in Amazon’s operating and safety procedures for an autonomous drone delivery service that will one day deliver packages to our customers around the world,” said David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air.

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