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Amazon wins U.S. approval to deliver packages by drone

E-giant says green light from the government is an important step, but it's still testing and flying the drones
8/31/2020

Getting an Amazon packaged 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 the approval was an "important step," but added it was 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.

READ: Amazon wants to build drone repair stations on trains, container ships

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.

READ: Could Amazon’s robots revolutionize grocery?

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.

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