Amazon’s drones will soon deliver to nearly 500 US cities and towns

Amazon says its drone delivery service will reach “nearly 500 cities and towns in the United States” by the end of this year, increasing its coverage by six times compared to the current footprint. Prime Air deliveries will soon be launched in the Chicago, Illinois; Syracuse, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; and Boise, Idaho metro areas, according to Amazon’s announcement, with “more communities to come later this year.”

These will join 11 locations across the US where Amazon already offers drone deliveries, with each Prime Air site serving an area of approximately 175 square miles. The service aims to quickly deliver packages of up to 5 pounds or less, and according to Amazon Prime Air vice president David Carbon, has already been used to deliver “hundreds of thousands of packages to customers” this year, with most orders arriving around 60 minutes after checkout.

Amazon reiterated its drone safety features alongside these expansion plans, including Prime Air’s “industry-leading Detect-and-Avoid system.” That’s likely an attempt to minimize any concerns raised by the communities where the service is expanding, given these drones have already been scrutinized for crashing into cranes, internet cables, gardens, and an apartment building.