Seattle: Amazon announced plans on Wednesday to expand its drone delivery service, Prime Air, to nearly 500 US cities and towns by the end of the year. This marks significant progress for a project that has been slowly advancing since Jeff Bezos first shared his vision for the service nearly 13 years ago. The expansion would increase Prime Air's current reach sixfold, as stated in a company release.

According to Anadolu Agency, the announcement follows a statement made five months ago by David Carbon, Prime Air's vice president, who expressed confidence in the program. During an internal all-hands meeting, Carbon outlined ambitious expansion targets and highlighted that Prime Air aims to complete 1 million deliveries this year. He also noted that Amazon holds the "highest demand drone delivery service in the industry."

Amazon reported that it has already completed hundreds of thousands of drone deliveries this year, with thousands occurring daily. Jeff Bezos initially announced in 2013 that Amazon would create a drone network capable of delivering small packages in 30 minutes or less. However, the initiative has faced regulatory delays, workforce reductions, technical challenges, and community resistance in areas where early pilot programs were conducted.

In 2024, Amazon received a crucial regulatory approval to conduct long-range drone deliveries. Over the past year, the company has expanded its operations beyond initial markets near Dallas, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, to 11 metropolitan areas.