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Amazon starts air drone deliveries near Phoenix

By Mike Heuer
Amazon's MK30 drone is providing same-day air-delivery service in the West Valley of the Phoenix metro area for eligible packages weighing no more than 5 pounds. Photo courtesy of Amazon
Amazon's MK30 drone is providing same-day air-delivery service in the West Valley of the Phoenix metro area for eligible packages weighing no more than 5 pounds. Photo courtesy of Amazon

Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Amazon Prime Air drone deliveries are underway and delivering small packages within an hour in the West Valley of the Phoenix metro area.

The FAA has approved Amazon's air drone delivery service in Phoenix, including drones flying beyond visual line of sight.

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Amazon Prime's delivery drones use an onboard detect-and-avoid system to prevent mid-air accidents while flying to or from a delivery location.

"This is an historic, first-of-its-kind approval for a new drone system and a new operating location," Amazon officials said in an online service announcement on Tuesday.

The air drone delivery service is available to consumers who are located near Amazon Prime's same-day site Tolleson, Ariz., and who order eligible items weighing no more than 5 pounds.

An Amazon air drone will deliver the items using MK30 drones that deploy for facilities located next to Amazon's same-day delivery site in Tolleson.

The smaller sites combine order-fulfillment and delivery services for Amazon customers to make it faster for Amazon to deliver potentially millions of eligible items by air drone.

Amazon started its air-drone delivery service in 2022 and last year added pharmacy delivers at its air-delivery facility in College Station, Texas.

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Amazon intends to implement its air-delivery service in large metro areas throughout the United States and in Europe.

Amazon officials say the air deliveries make it easier for Amazon to fulfill orders and deliver them by land or air.

Amazon in April announced the popular online order-and-delivery service set record delivery speeds during the first three months of 2024 by delivering more than 2 billion items within a day to customers located around the world.

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