Amazon on Wednesday said its Prime Air drone-delivery service is on track to reach nearly 500 US cities and towns by the end of 2026, a roughly sixfold expansion from its current footprint of 11 sites across 10 metros in seven states.
From 11 Sites To A Nationwide Footprint
Prime Air today serves customers in Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Texas, with each launch site covering about 175 square miles. The company said in a post authored by transportation writer Tyler Greenawalt that it will soon add sites in the Chicago, Illinois; Syracuse, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; and Boise, Idaho metros, with more communities to follow later this year.
David Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, said the service has already delivered hundreds of thousands of packages by drone in 2026 and that customers on eligible items can now get drone drop-offs "in as fast as 30 minutes." Prime members pay nothing on orders over $50, $2.99 below that threshold, and $4.99 without a membership.
How The Fleet Scales
Nearly all items 5 pounds or less that fit in a large shoebox — more than 60% of Amazon's most-ordered products, according to the company — are eligible for drone delivery. Prime Air holds an FAA Part 135 air-carrier certificate, the same regulatory tier used by commercial airlines, and its MK30 drone uses an onboard Detect-and-Avoid system to independently monitor airspace during flight.
A Sharpening Race With Wing And Zipline
The buildout puts Amazon on a collision course with rivals that have been racing to scale — from Alphabet's Wing to Zipline's Uber Eats partnership and Cleveland Clinic's prescription runs. Amazon's launch cities also overlap with several priority Zipline and Wing markets, setting up direct competition for grocery, medication and consumer-electronics orders in the same suburbs.
Reporting based on coverage from Amazon's About Amazon newsroom.