Amazon is shuttering its drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California, one of the earliest U.S. test sites for the decade-long project, CNBC reported.
The program, called Prime Air, has struggled to get off the ground since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos first detailed his vision in 2013 of autonomous drones delivering packages weighing less than 5 pounds in 30 minutes or less.
Amazon says it’s now conducting test flights to demonstrate the reliability of its new delivery drone, the MK30, which the company unveiled at an event last year. The drone is intended to be smaller and quieter than prior models, and can fly through light and rain.
Amazon posted “Amazon drone delivery is coming to Arizona” From the post:
Later this year, Amazon customers in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area can receive Prime Air drone deliveries from our Tolleson, AZ Same-Day Delivery site.
Since starting drone delivery in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California in 2022, we’ve delivered thousands of items to customers in less than an hour. Last year we also began delivering prescription medications in partnership with Amazon Pharmacy to customers in College Station. We’ve received great feedback from customers and communities as we’ve rolled out the service.
We’re now adding a new location and entering the next stage of the program’s evolution. Later this year, drone deliveries are coming to the West Valley of the Phoenix Metro Area in Arizona.
With this new location, we’ll be fully integrated into Amazon’s delivery network, meaning, for the first time, drones will deploy from facilities next to our Same-Day Delivery site in Tolleson. These smaller sites are hybrid — part fulfillment center, pat delivery station. They allow us to fulfill, sort, and deliver products all from one site so we can get packages out to our customers even quicker.
Our Same-Day Delivery sites are situated close to the large metro areas they serve, which means customers get their orders faster. And with connections to the larger Amazon fulfillment centers nearby, we are able to offer Same-Day Delivery on millions of items…
TechCrunch reported Amazon it is ending Prime Air drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California town of 3,500 was the company’s second U.S. drone delivery site, after College Station, Texas. Operations were announced in June 2022.
The retail giant is not offering details around the setback, only noting, “We’ll offer all current employees opportunities at other sites, and continue serve customers in Lockeford with other delivery methods. We want to thank the community for all their support and feedback over the past few years.”
College Station deliveries will continue, along with a forthcoming site in Tolleson, Arizona, set to kick off deliveries later this year. Tolleson, a city of just over 7,000, is located in Maricopa County, in the western portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
In my opinion, it appears that Amazon intends to move its newest drone to different parts of the United States. It is also really good that current workers will be offered work at some of Amazon’s other sites.