RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from TechCrunch — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 12 sources
🚨 Flash Sale 🚨 Get $100 off your Disrupt 2026 ticket
Save $300 on your Disrupt 2026 ticket: REGISTER NOW.
Amazon’s Prime Air is taking off in nearly 500 US cities Lauren Forristal 7:57 AM PDT · August 19, 2026 Amazon announced Wednesday a major expansion of Amazon Prime Air, its drone delivery service, with plans to reach nearly 500 U.S. cities by the end of 2026. This marks a significant milestone as it expands the service’s footprint by roughly 6x its current reach.
Prime Air will soon launch in 11 locations: Tolleson, Arizona; Ruskin, Florida; Kansas City, Kansas; Papillion, Nebraska; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Hazel Park and Pontiac, Michigan; and Richmond, San Antonio, Richardson, and Waco, Texas.
The return to Tolleson is particularly notable given a drone accident that occurred there last year. In October 2025, two drones collided with the boom of a crane. Amazon’s drones have also previously drawn scrutiny following incidents, including clipping an internet cable and crashing into a garden and an apartment building .
This is likely why Amazon reiterated its focus on safety as part of the announcement. The company highlighted Prime Air’s “industry-leading Detect-and-Avoid system,” which is designed to continuously monitor the airspace and surroundings of each drone. The drones also rely on onboard cameras and sensors for navigation, obstacle detection, and delivery. Plus, Amazon said the drones are designed to operate in real-world conditions, including light rain and a range of temperatures.
Additionally, Prime Air operates under Federal Aviation Administration Part 135 certification, the same regulatory framework used by commercial air carriers.
“Customers already turn to Amazon for fast Same- and Next-Day Delivery, and Prime Air provides them an even speedier option when they need it, with deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes,” David Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, said in a statement, adding that the service has “already delivered hundreds of thousands of packages to customers by drone this year.”
The service currently operates across seven states, including Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas. Amazon says launches in Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Idaho, and New York are also coming soon.
Prime members receive free ultrafast drone delivery on eligible orders of $50 or more. For Prime members placing eligible orders under $50, the delivery fee is $2.99. Non-Prime customers pay a $4.99 delivery fee. Nearly all items 5 pounds or less can be delivered by drone.
Amazon’s push comes as other major companies continue building their own drone delivery networks. Walmart and Google parent Alphabet’s Wing have been expanding a competing drone delivery operation, which the companies have described as the largest drone delivery network in the U.S. In June, the companies added seven new markets , including Phoenix, Philadelphia, and the Bay Area.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission . This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Lauren Forristal Lauren covers media, streaming, apps and platforms at TechCrunch.
You can contact or verify outreach from Lauren by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at laurenforris22.25 on Signal.
October 13 – 15 San Francisco Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you. Save up to $300 toda y!
Anthropic shares more details about how Claude’s new watermarks will work Anthony Ha
7 desk gadgets that can make your workday better Aisha Malik
Apple proposes to take a 15% cut of purchases made outside the App Store Sarah Perez
If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously Zack Whittaker
Anthropic set AI agents loose on the same task. They started a turf war. Rebecca Bellan
Instagram introduces a redesigned wordmark Sarah Perez
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.