An Amazon spokesperson said an incident that involved a crash at a testing facility in Oregon was not the primary reason for the pause.
Amazon’s MK30 drones had been delivering packages in College Station, Texas, and Tolleson, Ariz. after the company won FAA approval in October.
Amazon halts drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona, citing possible safety concerns with its MK30 drone software.
Amazon has paused its drone delivery in several parts of Texas and Arizona. The Jeff Bezos-led company announced it is suspending the service at its facilities in College Station (Texas) and Tolleson (Arizona) until further notice.
Amazon Prime Air, the drone delivery arm of the e-commerce giant, is temporarily halting operations in Texas and Arizona to upgrade its drones’ software. The move follows crashes at Prime Air’s test facility in Pendleton, Oregon, in September and December, first reported by Bloomberg.
For the last two years, multinational technology giant Amazon has been operating a commercial drone program in College Station. But this week that program is on hold. Amazon on Friday suspended all commercial drone activity,
Amazon confirmed that it voluntarily paused its Prime Air drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona, but downplayed the role of a reported crash of two drones in December at an Oregon testing facility as a factor in the decision.
The company said Friday it was immediately suspending drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona to fix the aircraft’s software.
The e-commerce industry continues to surprise with its ongoing transformations, particularly in the area of logistics. Recently, Amazon temporarily suspended its commercial drone delivery operations in Texas and Arizona after two of its latest MK30 models crashed at a testing facility during light rain.
Amazon's drone delivery pauses in Texas and Arizona due to software fix after two crashes. Industry expects business to be $10B by decade's end.
Amazon has paused all commercial drone deliveries for the foreseeable future, with one of the drones even catching fire after the crash. According to Amazon, the crashes were caused by a software issu
The service, which allowed Amazon's Prime members to try on select clothing items, shoes and accessories at home before completing a purchase, is set to wind down in the coming weeks. The last day eligible customers can place orders using the subscriber benefit is Jan. 31, the company confirmed.