Through an official press release, Amazon announced the closure of its drone package delivery program Prime Air a Lockefordin California.
We are talking about one of the first areas selected to test this new merchandise distribution technique, through a plan that allowed residents to order products weighing less than 5 pounds (approximately 2.2 kilos) and to receive the package within 30 minutes. This, however, does not mean that Amazon is abandoning the idea of delivering products via drones.
In fact, the company’s statement announces the opening of a new Prime Air headquarters, this time in Tolleson in Arizona. According to the press release, drones will be active in this territory starting from the end of 2024.
Despite what happened in Lockerford, Amazon continues to strongly believe in the project. Delivery operations via drones, in fact, are fully active College Station (Texas) and Prime Air is expected to expand in 2025.
Amazon continues to believe in drone delivery: here are the prospects for the future
Why did the company decide to abandon Lockerford? At present, no statements have been released in this regard. The Californian headquarters started its operation in 2022 and, as it stands, the local staff seems to be destined to be engaged in other projects of the company.
Confirming Amazon’s intentions is the development of MK30, a drone that is less heavy than previous models and capable of flying even in light rain. This model is still in the testing phase, although the development phase is considered advanced.
Air deliveries have been a concrete objective for Amazon for years now. Already in 2013, the historic CEO and founder Jeff Bezoshe had stated that I will come in 4-5 years it would have been possible to receive parcels at home via drone. Since then, however, the development of the necessary technologies does not seem to have kept the set deadlines.
Today we are talking about only 100 deliveries in mid-2023with some competing companies that, in the meantime, seem to have exploited this type of technology much better.