ITALY, UNITED KINGDOM, & UNITED STATES - What’s that I see? Drones delivering packages with the iconic Amazon smile? The global retailer’s Prime Air has expanded its program and will be delighting customers in Italy, the U.K., and a third United States market beginning in late 2024.

Working closely with national regulators and international regulators, Amazon has committed time and resources to build a safe and scalable service.

“We have refined the technology and are now building the right infrastructure to ensure the service provides the ultimate convenience for our customers, the company explained in its release. “We’ve also taken great care to ensure that our drones’ design philosophy and demonstrated levels of safety are setting a higher bar for safety across the commercial drone delivery industry, working closely with regulators to design to the highest standard set within those regulations.”

Once available, eligible Amazon customers can opt-in to drone delivery and choose from thousands of items that weigh five pounds or less—including household products, everyday essentials, beauty items, and office/tech supplies. More details on the cities to come.

Drone delivery will no longer only take place out of stand-alone Prime Air Delivery Centers, like those in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas. Moving forward, Amazon will integrate drones into the Amazon delivery network, so customers will have traditional delivery vans, Flex delivery vehicles, and Prime Air drones leaving from the same building.

More details can be found here.

As the drones are only capable of delivering lighter items, who’s to say that food and beverage items aren’t on the wish list? ANUK will keep an eye on the skies and radar for more retail updates.

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