Amazon Prime Air drone delivery is expanding to nearly 500 cities and towns this year
Amazon announced on 19 August 2026 that Prime Air aims to serve close to 500 American cities and towns before the end of 2026, six times its present footprint. Drone delivery runs today from 11 US locations across seven states, among them Tolleson in Arizona, Ruskin in Florida, Kansas City in Kansas, Papillion in Nebraska and Richardson in Texas, with each site covering about 175 square miles. Amazon names Chicago, Syracuse, Cleveland, Atlanta and Boise as the next metro areas. David Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, said the company has "already delivered hundreds of thousands of packages to customers by drone this year." Prime Air holds FAA Part 135 certification and carries items of five pounds or less.
- 500 Cities And Towns Planned
- 30 Minutes, As Fast As
- 7 Sites Named Today
Route density has set the cost of last mile delivery since parcel delivery began, and it is why thin markets are served last and priced highest. A drone does not carry that arithmetic: it needs a flyable trip to one address rather than a profitable street. The gap between seven named sites today and a plan for nearly 500 towns by year end is the whole question, and it is a planning input for anyone whose service area was drawn around van economics.