Amazon has restarted drone delivery operations it halted due to concerns about performance issues in some locations, the company noted in a blog post that demonstrated getting merchandise to consumers via air transport has particular complexities.
The company indicated that in November 2024, Amazon began using its MK30 drone for commercial delivery services in the West Valley of Arizona’s Phoenix metro area and College Station, Texas. In use, the drones experience more dust in Phoenix than elsewhere. Although the company designed the drone to be safe in the locations where it operated, Amazon discovered that dust interfered with data from the altitude sensor it used.
Amazon maintained that it never experienced a digital delivery safety event, but the company voluntarily halted drone deliveries. Amazon enhanced, tested and got approval from the United States Federal Aviation Administration on an upgraded drone, the company noted, which cleared the way for drone deliveries to recommence.
“That is one of the most challenging, but also most rewarding, parts of our job,” Phil Hornstein, who leads system safety for Amazon’s Prime Air, focusing on the drone’s design and engineering. “Our aim at Prime Air is to establish and meet a safety bar that is higher than what is required by regulators.”
