This undated image provided by Amazon shows one of the company's delivery drones. Amazon won approval to deliver packages by drones from the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency said Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. (Jordan Stead/Amazon via AP, File)
By Joseph Pisani
Getting an Amazon package delivered from the sky is closer to becoming a reality.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had granted Amazon approval to deliver packages by drones.
Amazon said that the approval is an "important step," but added that it is still testing and flying the drones. It did not say when it expected drones to make deliveries to shoppers.
The online shopping giant has been working on drone delivery for years, but it has been slowed by regulatory hurdles. Back in December 2013, Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos said in a TV interview that drones would be flying to customer's homes within five years.
Last year, Amazon unveiled self-piloting drones that are fully electric, can carry 5 pounds of goods, and are designed to deliver items in 30 minutes by dropping them in a backyard. At the time, an Amazon executive said deliveries to shoppers would be happening "within months," but more than 14 months have passed since then.
Seattle-based Amazon is the third drone delivery service to win flight approval, the FAA said. Delivery company UPS and a company owned by search giant Google won approval last year.
Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International and co-founder of Daughters for Earth, shares why she is putting women in positions of power to fight the climate crisis.
The federal tax collector said Monday that roughly 940,000 people in the U.S. have until May 17 to submit tax returns for unclaimed refunds for tax year 2020, which total more than $1 billion nationwide.
Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney have reached a settlement agreement in a state court fight over how Walt Disney World is developed in the future.
Ahead of the WNBA season and in the midst of March Madness, New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke discusses the team’s new deal with Barclays and bringing even more attention to women’s sports.
U.S. Nissan head Jérémie Papin joins from the New York International Auto Show to give a preview of what’s to come from the carmaker – including the 2025 Nissan Kicks.
