Amazon delivers first packages with drones in metro Phoenix, Arizona - Phoenix Business Journal

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Phoenix residents may notice large drones taking flight to deliver same-day packages to homes in the Valley starting Nov. 5.

Amazon.com Inc. is taking flight in Arizona.

The e-commerce giant is expected to start delivering packages using its new drone technology on Nov. 5 across the west side of metro Phoenix.

Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) received key approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration in late October to fly the drones beyond a pilot's visual line of sight, meaning the company can operate the technology without being able to see the drones directly.

Starting Tuesday, residents in the West Valley will now be able to select Amazon's drone for their orders during daylight hours and receive those deliveries within an hour.

Packages delivered via drone will deploy out of one of Amazon's same-day centers in Tolleson about 14 miles west of downtown Phoenix, at 10601 W. Van Buren St. in a largely industrial area.

As drone deliveries ramp up, the potential service area could cover a 7-mile radius surrounding the Tolleson facility. That spans both sides of Interstate 10 from the Loop 303 and out east to the Loop 202 and includes cities such as Goodyear, Avondale, Glendale, Phoenix and Tolleson.

"Tolleson is at the epicenter of the technology really moving from a test phase to being part of the Amazon ecosystem," said Zoe Richmond, a spokesperson for Amazon.

The West Valley city was picked as the first in the U.S. to debut Amazon's latest MK30 drones after the company tested the technology in College Station, Texas, where it will continue drone delivery operations.

Those using drone delivery will have to pay a $9.99 service fee if they're an Amazon Prime member or $14.99 for nonmembers.

Customers will be able to choose from more than 50,000 products at the Tolleson facility for smaller items and packages weighing less than five pounds such as batteries, hygiene products, medicine and food.

Amazon will start marketing and notifying customers that have access to the drone delivery services. After deploying from the same-day center, Amazon's drones fly up to 400 feet high before descending and dropping a package at a home, hovering about 12 feet in the air when the package is released.

Eventually Amazon expects its reach to expand beyond the initial operating area but is first focused on establishing the drone services close to the Tolleson facility. Questions about the company's drone delivery operations can be submitted to [email protected].

The use of drone technology is part of a large plan Amazon is working on to make deliveries for vendors and customers more efficient. The company recently opened three inbound cross-dock facilities each totaling 1 million square feet across the West Valley to further streamline and regionalize deliveries in Arizona.

Amazon had also been testing its drone in Lockeford, California, but shut down those operations following the Arizona announcement. Some of the staff working at the California location have since relocated to Arizona.

More drone locations in the U.S. are expected to be announced next year, according to the company, which is also implementing its drones in Italy and the United Kingdom.

Walmart is another company that wanted to implement drone delivery in Arizona. It previously planned drone deliveries in Phoenix but has since refocused its efforts on the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Axios reported.