Amazon has launched same-day drone deliveries in the West Valley region of Arizona’s Phoenix metro area.
Customers with homes close to Amazon’s Tolleson, Arizona facility can now have select items weighing less than five pounds delivered by drone in under an hour, according to a November 5 announcement from the company. In total, more than 50,000 products — ranging from office supplies to household appliances — are available in the region for same-day drone delivery.
“This kind of delivery is the future, and it’s exciting that it will be starting in the Phoenix Metro Area,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said. “The shift toward zero-emission package delivery will help us reduce local pollution and further cement our city as a hotbed for the innovative technology of tomorrow.”
Amazon says that the MK30 drones it’s now using in Arizona can fly twice as far as its previous models, are 50% quieter, and can fly in rainy conditions. The MK30 was first used for deliveries in College Station, Texas, one of two regions where the company first started testing drones in the U.S.
In May, the Prime Air drone program was also cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly outside the visual range of a pilot. The companies that provide drone delivery services for Google’s parent company and Walmart received that same FAA clearance in July.
