Amazon plans to expand its Prime Air drone delivery service from 11 current U.S. locations to about 500 cities and towns by year-end, a roughly sixfold increase in coverage that the company said could reach tens of millions of consumers, including roughly 30 million people with access by the end of the year. The service now operates in Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Texas and is set to add Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, New York and Ohio, with potential new hubs including Syracuse, Cleveland, Atlanta and Chicago suburbs. Eligible orders cover millions of grocery, electronics, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and household items weighing up to five pounds and fitting in a shoebox-sized package—criteria Amazon said more than 60% of frequently bought products meet—with delivery in as little as 30 minutes and most arrivals within an hour. Pricing includes free Prime delivery on orders of $50 or more, a $2.99 fee below that threshold for members, and $4.99 for non-members. The MK30 aircraft uses six propellers, vertical takeoff and landing, a roughly 7.5-mile radius and a sense-and-avoid system; Amazon cites FAA Part 135 certification and 2024 beyond-visual-line-of-sight authorization while addressing noise, privacy and local-approval hurdles after earlier incidents and community pushback. The accelerated commercial push, more than a decade after Jeff Bezos unveiled the concept in 2013, comes as Walmart partners with Wing and Zipline, Uber invests in Zipline for nationwide U.S. drone delivery, and Amazon ties drones to same-day hubs and its Amazon Now service. Earlier company and internal remarks had already pointed to hundreds of thousands of deliveries this year and a one-million annual pace.