Amazon has paused its US drone deliveries following a crash involving two drones in Arizona, Bloomberg reports.
The drones reportedly crashed during rainy weather at the company’s testing facility in Pendleton, Oregon, in December. In another incident in September, the company’s testers accidentally launched two test flights at once, causing the drones to collide.
The move means that Prime Air customers in Texas and Arizona, where these drone deliveries are commercially available at select locations, will face a pause while Amazon implements “critical software updates” across its drone fleet.
This is just one of many recent setbacks for Amazon’s highly ambitious program, which at one point pledged to deliver 500 million packages by drone by 2030. In April, Amazon paused the rollout of the program in California, in the small test city of Lockeford, home to just 3,500 people, saying the move would help them “prioritize our resources to continue growing the program.” Prime Air has also seen numerous high-profile executives exit. CNBC reported in December that Sean Cassidy, who served as Prime Air’s head of safety, flight operations, and regulatory affairs, left the company.
However, the project has made strides in making inroads with regulators. In May, it gained regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for its drones to fly beyond the visual line of sight.
It’s unknown if the recent decision to pause testing in the US will impact Amazon’s goals for international expansion. In October 2023, the company announced plans to integrate drone deliveries into its network in Italy and the United Kingdom and recently received a green light from the UK government.
Safety isn’t the only issue Prime Air is grappling with—cost may also be a significant factor holding back the program’s long-term viability. Internal documents leaked to Business Insider in 2022 revealed that the cost of delivering a single package could reach $63 by 2025. Meanwhile, plenty of other firms are trying their hand at the drone delivery business, including Alphabet’s Wing and start-up Zipline, in collaboration with Walmart.
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About Will McCurdy
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