Amazon Doubles Down On Michigan Drone Delivery With Hazel Park Expansion

Amazon is expanding its Prime Air drone delivery service deeper into metro Detroit, announcing plans to fly packages from its Hazel Park fulfillment center to nearby neighborhoods before the end of 2025.

The move doubles Amazon’s Michigan drone footprint just weeks after launching service in Pontiac.

12 Amazon Delivery Drones, 7.5-Mile Radius

A fleet of 12 MK30 drones will operate from Amazon’s delivery station at 1400 E. 10 Mile Road, serving customers within a 7.5-mile radius.

That coverage area includes parts of Detroit, Hamtramck, Warren, Madison Heights, Oak Park, and Ferndale.

“I think it’s really exciting to be able to offer someone an opportunity to receive a product that they need very quickly,” Lauren Wilson, Amazon’s drone operations manager, said at a Nov. 20 community event at the Hazel Park Community Center.

Wilson highlighted practical use cases: an elderly person needing medication without pharmacy access, or customers without cars who need supplies quickly.

How Prime Air Works

The electric MK30 drones weigh 85 pounds (38.5 kg) and fly at altitudes between 200 and 400 feet (61-122 meters). Each drone can deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds (2.3 kg) in under 60 minutes.

Prime members pay $4.99 per delivery. Non-members pay $9.99.

When placing an order, customers select up to three delivery points on their property during checkout. The drone descends and drops packages from approximately 13 feet (4 meters) above ground.

Amazon advises keeping people, pets, vehicles, and objects taller than 5 feet at least 10 feet away from the delivery zone.

“They just kind of disappear into the landscape,” Wilson said, comparing the drone’s noise level to a vacuum cleaner.

Michigan Weather Poses Challenges

Flying drones in Michigan presents unique obstacles that Amazon’s warmer-climate test markets never faced.

The MK30 drones cannot operate in icy conditions or when temperatures drop below 14°F (-10°C). They can handle rain and light precipitation but not snow.

“If weather becomes an issue,” Wilson explained, Amazon’s traditional delivery fleet will handle those packages instead.

The company designed the MK30 with custom propellers that reduce perceived noise by nearly half compared to earlier models. The drones also feature “sense and avoid” technology to detect and navigate around obstacles including people, pets, and property.

Jobs And Community Investment

Amazon’s Hazel Park facility employs 700 workers. The Prime Air launch adds 30 new positions for roles including flight monitors and ground handlers who prepare drones for launch.

Ian Conyers, Amazon’s head of Community Affairs, emphasized the company’s commitment to the area.

“We want to make sure that we’re supporting the Hazel Park community,” Conyers said. “Hazel Park is really important to our operations network, and we’ve earned a lot of trust with the community here.”

Wilson addressed concerns about automation displacing workers, describing Prime Air as complementary to traditional deliveries rather than a replacement.

Safety Questions Linger

Amazon’s aggressive expansion comes despite recent safety incidents.

In October 2025, two Prime Air drones crashed into a construction crane in Tolleson, Arizona. The collision caused substantial damage and sparked a fire, though no injuries were reported.

The FAA and NTSB opened investigations. Amazon paused operations for two days before resuming flights.

“There’s nothing to fear,” Wilson told reporters when asked about safety concerns.

DroneXL’s Take

Amazon’s Hazel Park expansion signals the company isn’t backing down from its drone delivery ambitions, even as technical and regulatory challenges mount.

This marks Amazon’s fifth active U.S. market after Tolleson, Arizona; Pontiac, Michigan; Waco, Texas; and San Antonio. The company previously operated in College Station, Texas, but shut down that facility on August 31, 2025 following sustained noise complaints from residents.

The Michigan expansion is particularly interesting because it tests Prime Air in genuinely harsh conditions. When we covered the Pontiac launch earlier this month, we noted that Michigan’s varied weather would stress-test the MK30’s capabilities beyond anything Amazon has faced in Arizona or Texas. Now we’re watching that theory play out in real time.

The economics remain challenging. As we detailed in our December 2024 analysis, internal projections showed delivery costs around $63 per package against customer pricing of $4.99-$9.99. That math only works at scale, and Amazon is betting it can outlast competitors like Wing, Zipline, and Flytrex in the race to make drone delivery routine rather than novelty.

The FAA’s May 2025 approval for lithium-ion battery deliveries expanded Prime Air’s product catalog significantly, making the service more practical for everyday purchases like iPhones and AirPods. That regulatory win matters more than any single market launch.

But the October crane crash in Tolleson raises legitimate questions. Two drones hitting the same obstacle within minutes suggests the “sense and avoid” systems have blind spots. Amazon claims the technology works as intended and blames the incident on an unexpected crane in the flight path. Federal investigators haven’t yet released findings.

For drone professionals and enthusiasts, Amazon’s aggressive expansion validates what we’ve argued for years: the technology works, the regulations are navigable, and the market exists. The question was never “if” but “when” and “at what cost.”

We’re watching Amazon bet billions that 2025-2026 is “when,” and that scale will eventually solve “cost.” Michigan winters will tell us if they’re right.

What do you think about drone delivery expanding into colder climates? Share your thoughts in the comments below.