Amazon's Prime Air will cover 500 US cities by year-end, delivering items under 5 lbs within 30-60 minutes. The move intensifies the last-mile race with Walmart and tests regulatory limits.
Amazon is pushing its Prime Air drone delivery service to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of this year. The company said the expansion covers Illinois, Georgia, Ohio, Idaho, and New York, adding to the seven states where the service already operates.
The move marks a significant ramp-up in Amazon's effort to make last-mile delivery faster and cheaper. Items weighing 5 pounds or less and fitting in a large shoebox qualify – the majority of Amazon's daily package volume, the company said. Orders arrive in as fast as 30 minutes, with most around 60 minutes, according to a press release.
Walmart is also scaling its drone delivery, adding 100 stores in cities like Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa over the past year. The two retail giants are racing to prove that autonomous air delivery can reduce costs and cut delivery times, while avoiding the regulatory and safety hurdles that have slowed similar projects.
Amazon said its drones use a "Detect-and-Avoid" system that monitors airspace and the environment, making real-time decisions in flight. The company did not disclose the full list of locations but said customers can check eligibility through its website under the "Drone Delivery" section.
The expansion raises questions about noise, privacy, and air traffic management. For now, Amazon is betting that the convenience of 30-minute delivery will outweigh those concerns. The company has not said how many drones it will deploy or what the operational cost per package will be.
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