Amazon Prime has been making deliveries by drone in the U.S. since December 2022, and is looking to expand its Prime Air service, which drops off your items in an hour or less, to more places.
Starting next year, Amazon customers in the U.K., Italy, and three more U.S. cities will be able to order a package and have it through Prime Air, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday. Items must be under five pounds to qualify.
“We’re developing drones that can fly thousands of times and deliver millions of packages annually for customers,” said Amazon. “We’re focused on bringing ultra-fast drone delivery to as many Amazon customers as our technology can safely enable.”
Amazon was not immediately available to comment on which cities will be added. The blog post said it will release a list of names within the next few months, starting with three cities by the end of 2024. Customers can order household products, essential items, beauty products, office and tech supplies.
Currently, Prime Air only offers delivery in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California. Amazon anticipated fulfilling tens of thousands of drone deliveries this year, but so far has completed 100 deliveries by May, according to CNBC, less than Alphabet’s Wing and Walmart’s Zipline drone delivery services.
The new locations will be serviced by Prime Air’s smaller MK30 drones, which are lighter and quieter than the drones currently in use and can fly twice as far. They’re also built to withstand harsher weather conditions so that deliveries won’t be paused due to rain or extreme temperatures. Drones will deploy from Same-Day Delivery sites. In Italy and the U.K., Amazon will begin integrating drones into some fulfillment centers.
Amazon is working with national and international regulators throughout the EU, Italy, the U.K., and the U.S. to further develop the infrastructure for Prime Air.