The North Haven Planning & Zoning Commission approved an Amazon application to operate its first Prime Air drone delivery service in Connecticut, from a big product sorting center in the New Haven suburb. The commission approved also "site hardening" measures for better security, including perimeter fences and controlled access points.
An Amazon spokesperson forwarded a company statement confirming the North Haven plans, in a Monday response to a CT Insider query. The North Haven warehouse is located at 409 Washington Ave., between the parallel roadways of Interstate 91 and the Wilbur Cross Parkway.
"Prime Air currently delivers to customers in locations across the country and the response from customers using Prime Air has been overwhelmingly positive," Amazon stated in an email forwarded by spokesperson Michael Murphy. "We are currently working with local officials on new ways to expand our fast, reliable drone delivery service to reach customers in the greater New Haven metro area."
Sam Bailey, an economic development manager with Amazon, previewed the plans in early May with North Haven P&Z commissioners. Drone delivery operations require Federal Aviation Administration approval under both air space and environmental considerations, with the public allowed to submit formal comment as part of that process.
Bailey said the company will also hold a public session for people to learn about the drones and air any questions or concerns, and Amazon is reaching out to adjacent municipalities and others with questions on how Amazon envisions using air space.
If the FAA approves Prime Air flights originating in North Haven, customers would be given the option of requesting drone service if their property is eligible, and a product qualifies for drone shipment. Prime Air carries a $5 delivery fee for Amazon Prime members, and $10 for non-members.
"What we often see is someone might use it for something they need right away," Bailey said. "I've got three little kids. Occasionally someone pops a fever and ... we're out of children's Motrin or we can't find any of the baby pacifiers, that 'parent moment' — sometimes that's a great time."
Not all customers will qualify for drone delivery, including those with power lines too close for safe operation, or trees with branches spreading over open spaces where a drone might be able to descend otherwise.
Measuring five feet in diameter and weighing just over 80 pounds, Amazon's drones can fly up to 70 miles an hour, with a round-trip range of about 15 miles on a single lithium-ion-battery charge.
That would be sufficient to cover swaths of Hamden and Wallingford, factoring in any restricted air spaces drones might have to steer clear of like first-responder facilities and hospitals with helicopter landing pads. The North Haven warehouse is about a dozen miles north of Tweed New Haven Airport.
Amazon programs Prime Air drones to fly 200 to 400 feet above ground level, and to hover 12 or 13 feet above drop zones to execute deliveries. During takeoff and landing, the drones generate a little over 60 decibels of noise — a little louder than a kitchen dishwasher, but not as loud as a vacuum cleaner.
Packages would be loaded at a "Prime Air Drone Delivery Center" — with the acronym pronounced "paddock" by Bailey — at Amazon's North Haven facility.
Customers are given a choice of drop zones on their property as pre-determined by Amazon, if there is at least 10 feet of distance from any objects. In instances where Amazon cannot make the delivery as planned, the drone returns to the warehouse and the package is dispatched for ground delivery.
"As we descend and conduct a vertical delivery, it can scan the pre-defined delivery point for humans, pets, other obstacles," Bailey said. "If [kids] are running around the backyard and run through the delivery point — about 18-feet-wide — the drone can sense that, and then would abort the delivery and return to station."
Bailey added that the drones are not equipped with any surveillance cameras that could snoop on properties or people.
"It can't scan license plates [or] look into windows," Bailey said. "It's strictly for the navigation and delivery of the package."
Separately, Amazon won permission to install a perimeter fence circling its 142-acre property on Washington Avenue, with accompanying gates and guardhouses.
"Amazon is rolling out initiatives — largely nationwide — to increase the safety for all of their associates on the majority of their sites," said Tim Houle, a senior project manager with BL Cos., who spoke about the Amazon security plan.
Gates would be left open at shift changes to minimize any traffic backups as a result of employee arrivals and departures, with Houle saying the alternative could take up an hour for each arriving employee to "badge in", in his words. Contractor employees would have a separate entrance and parking area.
Amazon launched Prime Air in 2022 three days in advance of Christmas, testing the service in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, Calif., south of Sacramento. The company has Prime Air in nine locales today, with Arizona, Florida, Kansas and Michigan on a short list of states with warehouses that have Prime Air launch points.
This month, the company expanded drone delivery to the Houston area. Prime Air hubs are pending in Illinois, Louisiana and Ohio.
Amazon suspended Prime Air service temporarily last year to review and upgrade drone software for its newest drone model called MK30, with twice the range and half the noise of an earlier model it replaced, according to Amazon. That earlier model generated complaints for a buzzing noise it emitted during flight.
The MK30 is designed to fly autonomously to and from delivery sites, with Amazon having staffing monitors on site to keep tabs on flights and take control of any drone if the need arises.
"The drone ... can identify and conduct an evasive maneuver it it encounters anything from a hot air balloon to a helicopter," Bailey said. "It can operate in wind and light rain — winds of up to about 30 miles an hour."
Amazon has been building up its same-day and overnight delivery services. Under its newest Amazon Now service being rolled out in a number of metropolitan areas, the company is promising delivery in less than 30 minutes.
Philip Bump contributed to this report. Includes prior reporting by Jayden Nguyen and Steven Goode.
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