By Candice Williams, cwilliams@detroitnews.com
Customers in the Pontiac area can now have millions of items delivered to their doorstep via drone now that the Amazon’s Prime Air service is live in the city. Hazel Park is set to join the program soon.
The service brings “speed and convenience of ultra-fast delivery to local neighborhoods,” Amazon officials said.
Following the Pontiac launch earlier this month, Amazon said Monday it will expand drone delivery to Hazel Park.
The online retail giant will host a public event Thursday to give residents a look at its MK30 delivery drone.
In Pontiac, the service operates from facilities adjacent to Amazon’s fulfillment center on Featherstone Road, the former site of the Silverdome.
The Amazon MK30 delivery drone will use a vertical take-off to get off the ground then transition to horizontal, wing-borne flight. (Amazon Prime Air photo)
“Prime Air’s drone delivers packages weighing up to 5 pounds within approximately a 7-8-mile radius of the facility,” company officials said in an email. Communities that fall within a 7-8 mile radius include Bloomfield Hills, Auburn Hills and Waterford Township.
In Hazel Park, Amazon has a delivery station at 1400 East 10 Mile Road. The public event will take place at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Hazel Park Community Center at 620 W Woodward Heights. Prime members can use the service for $4.99 per delivery, while non-Prime customers can access it for $9.99.
Amazon first launched Prime Air in the United States in 2022, with the retailer saying it has delivered thousands of packages to customers in 60 minutes or less using electric drones it has designed, built and operated.
Amazon has fulfillment centers and delivery stations in several locations in Metro Detroit including Livonia, Detroit, Romulus, Plymouth, Canton, Hazel Park and Pontiac.