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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Amazon says it is rolling out drone delivery of smaller, lightweight packages to 500 towns and cities this year — and the Raleigh-Durham area potentially could be the first North Carolina site in the expansion.
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Already, the company is active in 13 cities with the company boasting hundreds of possible deliveries in a market per day. A Texas town even made headlines this week for noise complaints.
Amazon has confirmed the next four cities — the closest to North Carolina is Atlanta – in the future rollout of the service, which features delivery of packages up to 5 pounds. There’s no official word from Amazon about expansions beyond those four, which the company says will cut delivery times to as low as 30 minutes.
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An employee showing the drop and package loading slot on an Amazon drone for delivery service in the UK at its Darlington fulfilment center. Picture date: Thursday September 10, 2026. (Photo by Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA Images via Getty Images) -
Amazon delivery drone in a photo courtesy of Amazon -
Amazon delivery drones take off in Texas. Image from Associated Press on Sept. 24, 2026. -
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR AMAZON – Guests at Amazon’s Delivering the Future explore the MK30, Amazon’s newest Prime Air drone that can fly in light rain and deliver packages up to five pounds in under an hour in Sumner, WA on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. (Ron Wurzer/AP Images for Amazon) -
The Amazon drone delivery areas as of Sept. 25, 2026. Image courtesy: Amazon
However, Amazon is advertising several drone delivery jobs in the Raleigh-Durham area, along with one in Charlotte. Amazon has not confirmed any North Carolina expansion, but five central North Carolina jobs listed in Durham are advertised at the Morrisville Amazon facility, which is actually in Wake County, near Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
The RDU-area location, which could become just a training-only facility, is near potential delivery areas in Durham, Cary, Morrisville, and Raleigh. The company has said the delivery service will primarily fly in the suburbs, well away from major airports that could cause problems.
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Amazon says each drone site serves multiple cities in a metro area, so the Morrisville facility on Innovation Avenue could initially be for drone training, with the potential rollout in specific Wake County or Durham County cities or towns.
Although Amazon has not made any public announcements about North Carolina, the Charlotte position is for a senior program launch manager, which could oversee any possible expansion drone delivery sites in the Carolinas.
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Before launching at any new site, the company says it conducts “a comprehensive airspace analysis.” Amazon says that drones deliver packages along precise flight paths between its centers and customers’ yards, flying at altitudes between 115 and 400 feet.
Video of deliveries has shown the drones hovering a couple of feet off the ground with packages dropping from the drone after a slot opens in the lower section.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report