It’s raining boxes in Richardson, Texas. The city gave Amazon zoning approval in December to launch its Prime Air drone delivery program. Now some residents are ducking for cover.
The 83-pound delivery drones, capable of carrying up to five pounds of cargo within a seven-and-a-half-mile radius, fly as low as 13 feet during drop-off, hovering while packages tumble out onto lawns and driveways, according to The New York Times. One resident, Stephanie Puri, tracked 52 drones overhead on what she called a slow day. “We hear them zoom, zoom, zoom, back and forth from morning until past dinnertime,” said Nikki Anderson, whose backyard pool oasis has been overtaken by the noise. “We can’t live like this.”
It’s not the program’s first hiccup. Amazon briefly paused Prime Air deliveries earlier this year after two drones collided midair in Arizona, before resuming service and citing strong customer demand.
Amazon says the Texas complaints are rare. Spokeswoman Lindsay Hamilton said customer response has been “overwhelmingly positive,” with less than 1% of inquiries related to noise. But when resident Kristi Graham complained about drones flying over her backyard, Amazon’s fix was to reroute them — straight over her front door.
Amazon plans to expand Prime Air to 500 towns and cities by the end of this year, and the FAA projects the total number of drones in U.S. airspace could jump from about 897,000 today to more than 3.5 million by 2030. With all this traffic in the sky, some residents down below are raising privacy concerns. “Amazon can see you,” said Puri.
It’s raining boxes in Richardson, Texas. The city gave Amazon zoning approval in December to launch its Prime Air drone delivery program. Now some residents are ducking for cover.
The 83-pound delivery drones, capable of carrying up to five pounds of cargo within a seven-and-a-half-mile radius, fly as low as 13 feet during drop-off, hovering while packages tumble out onto lawns and driveways, according to The New York Times. One resident, Stephanie Puri, tracked 52 drones overhead on what she called a slow day. “We hear them zoom, zoom, zoom, back and forth from morning until past dinnertime,” said Nikki Anderson, whose backyard pool oasis has been overtaken by the noise. “We can’t live like this.”
It’s not the program’s first hiccup. Amazon briefly paused Prime Air deliveries earlier this year after two drones collided midair in Arizona, before resuming service and citing strong customer demand.