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Your next North Texas Amazon shipment could be delivered by drone

A fleet of Amazon Prime drones.
A fleet of Amazon Prime drones. Courtesy photo by Amazon

As if Amazon doesn’t get items to your doorstep quick enough, the shopping service just launched its quick-turn drone delivery service in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The drone delivery service can deliver packages weighing up to five pounds within an hour to customers who live within a seven- to eight-mile radius of one North Texas Amazon warehouse.

Drone delivery is becoming more common recently. A Walmart in Mesquite launched a similar model in April, with Zipline aircraft.

Here’s how Amazon’s new service works.

An Amazon drone takes off for a delivery.
An Amazon drone takes off for a delivery. Courtesy photo by Amazon

Who can order Amazon drone delivery in North Texas?

Amazon is starting drone deliveries out of its warehouse in Richardson.

Any resident within an eight-mile radius of the warehouse located at 3051 Research Drive in Richardson can order from the new drone delivery service.

Amazon is also testing this service in Waco and San Antonio. Customers can choose from tens of thousands of items for delivery within one hour on Amazon’s website.

How much does expedited drone delivery cost?

Customers, whether they are Amazon Prime members or not, can order drone delivery for a fee of $4.99.

Amazon Prime is offering drone deliveries. An Amazon employee is loading the package into a drone.
Amazon Prime is offering drone deliveries. An Amazon employee is loading the package into a drone. Courtesy photo by Amazon

How does Amazon’s drone delivery work?

Amazon employees load the package into the small aircraft at the warehouse.

The aircraft are programmed to zip over to the delivery address at 65 miles per hour, avoiding traffic, power lines, trees and any other structures.

The drone lowers enough to drop the package out of the aircraft safely on one’s doorstep, or front yard area. Customers do not need to interact with the drone at all.

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Ella Gonzales
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Ella Gonzales is a service journalism reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Ella mainly writes about local restaurants and where to find good deals around town.
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