Amazon receives FAA approval to fly delivery drones beyond visual line of sight

This photo provided by Amazon shows a drone delivering prescription drugs in College Station, Texas. Amazon will soon make prescription drugs fall out of the sky as the e-commerce giant becomes the latest company to test drone drug deliveries. On Wednesday, October 18, 2023, the company announced that customers in College Station, Texas can now have their prescriptions delivered via drone within an hour of placing an order. (Amazon via AP)

(NewsNation) — Amazon announced that federal regulators have approved its delivery drones to fly longer distances without the need for ground observers, allowing the company to expand its delivery program.

In a blog post published on its website Thursday, the e-commerce giant said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had approved Prime Air’s delivery service to enable “beyond line of sight” drone operations, removing a barrier that prevents drones from traveling longer distances.

The company said it received FAA approval after developing a strategy that ensures its drones will be able to “detect and avoid airborne obstacles.” He also submitted other technical information to the FAA and performed flight demonstrations before federal inspectors. These demonstrations were also conducted “in the presence of real planes, helicopters and a hot air balloon to demonstrate how the drone safely moved away from each of them.”

Amazon said the approval “lays the foundation” for scaling its operations to more locations across the country. The company said it plans to scale its operations in the College Station, Texas, area, where it will launch drone deliveries in 2022.

Last month, Amazon said it would close a drone delivery site in Lockeford, California – one of only two in the country – and open another later this year in Tolleson, Arizona, a city west of Phoenix.

By the end of the decade, Amazon has said its goal is to deliver 500 million packages a year by drone.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.