Amazon Prime Air is coming to metro Atlanta later this year, with the online retailer set to fly its MK30 drone from a Stone Mountain fulfillment center to households across Gwinnett and DeKalb counties in under an hour of ordering.
A Stone Mountain Hub, A 7-Mile Radius
The MK30 will operate within a roughly 7-mile radius of the Stone Mountain facility, covering parts of Redan, Lilburn, Snellville, Tucker and Lithonia. Amazon received Gwinnett County building permits in May and is targeting a launch later this year once construction wraps. The company confirmed the plans at a community information meeting Thursday in Snellville.
"Here in the Gwinnett and DeKalb County area, we have a huge customer base," said Jeff Cleland, head of U.S. regulatory affairs for Amazon Prime Air. "It's good airspace to operate in — yearlong, decent weather for drones — so it checks a bunch of boxes for a place where we want to scale."
What The MK30 Can Do
The MK30 is Amazon's latest drone, with a 5-foot wingspan and 83-pound takeoff weight. It ascends and descends vertically like a helicopter before tilting horizontally to cruise at speeds up to 74 mph. It can carry packages up to 5 pounds — roughly 60% of what Amazon customers typically order — such as over-the-counter medicine or Apple AirPods. Drone delivery costs $2.99 or $4.99, and is free on orders over $50. Amazon Prime Air has a Part 135 air carrier certificate from the FAA and was the first operator cleared to fly a drone weighing more than 55 pounds. The program already runs in 11 U.S. cities and one U.K. city.
Georgia's Drone Skies Get Crowded
Amazon lands in a metro Atlanta market already tilting toward drone deliveries, with Walmart working through Wing and DoorDash operating its own service in the region. Walmart and Wing's central Florida push and Washington's new 100% Section 232 tariff on heavy Chinese drones are reshaping the U.S. sector as the FAA finalizes new beyond-visual-line-of-sight rules. Amazon expects its Stone Mountain hub to add about 30 jobs, including operations managers, maintenance technicians and flight monitors.
Reporting based on coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.