Amazon plans drone delivery in 500 U.S. metros including Chicago, Boise
Amazon intends to increase its drone delivery footprint sixfold by year’s end.
The online giant intends to launch its Prime Air drone delivery service soon in the Chicago, Syracuse, N.Y., Cleveland, Atlanta, and Boise metro areas, with more communities to come later in 2026. Amazon expects to offer drone delivery in nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of the year.
Prime Air drone delivery is currently offered in these locations and the surrounding areas in the U.S., with each Prime Air site serving an area of approximately 175 square miles:
- Tolleson, Ariz. (Phoenix metro area)
- Ruskin, Fla (Tampa metro area)
- Kansas City, Kan.
- Papillion, Neb. (Omaha metro area)
- Baton Rouge, La.
- Hazel Park, Mich. (Detroit metro area)
- Pontiac, Mich. (Detroit metro area)
- Richmond, Texas (Houston metro area)
- San Antonio.
- Richardson, Texas (Dallas metro area)
- Waco, Texas
Prime Air drone delivery currently serves customers in cities across seven states, including Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Texas, with plans to launch in Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Idaho, and New York soon. Amazon, which initially received FAA approval for drone delivery in 2020, began delivering orders via drone in Lockeford, Calif. and College Station, Tex. in late 2022 but has since ceased the program in both those areas.
Amazon also recently introduced drone delivery outside the U.S., in Darlington, U.K. The company previously tested drone delivery in the U.K. in 2016 but never moved beyond pilot stage in that project. Amazon has also tested drone deliveries in Italy.
[READ MORE: Amazon makes first-ever Prime Air drone deliveries outside U.S.]
According to Amazon, nearly all items five pounds or less that fit in a large shoebox can be delivered by drone, meaning more than 60% of the items customers are most frequently purchasing from Amazon are eligible. Orders arrive in as fast as 30 minutes, with most orders arriving around 60 minutes after checkout.
Prime members get free ultrafast drone delivery as an exclusive perk on orders $50 or more. For Prime members with orders under $50, the delivery fee is $2.99. Customers without a Prime membership pay a $4.99 delivery fee. Drone delivery is integrated into the existing Amazon shopping experience using same app, same checkout, and same customer service that includes returns. Customers can check if their area has drone delivery and browse eligible items.
Customers will see and confirm their delivery point when placing their first drone delivery order. They can choose to keep the same delivery point for future orders or select a new area at any time. Once the drone arrives at the preferred delivery point with a customer’s order, it will check to confirm there are no people, pets or vehicles in the way before delivering the package.
“Customers already turn to Amazon for fast Same- and Next-Day Delivery, and Prime Air provides them an even speedier option when they need it, with deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes,” said David Carbon, VP of Amazon Prime Air, in a corporate blog post. “We've already delivered hundreds of thousands of packages to customers by drone this year, and by the end of 2026 we plan to reach customers in nearly 500 cities and towns. We're pairing the convenience of ultrafast drone delivery with the low prices and selection customers love about Amazon.”
