Amazon’s planned Prime Air service from Westborough, Massachusetts, faces a state approval step it has not yet reached: MassDOT’s Aeronautics Division says the company has not submitted an official request to review its proposed drone takeoff and landing area.
In a letter to Amazon dated October 22, Aeronautics Division Administrator Denise Garcia said the site cannot open without a certificate of approval under Massachusetts law. The division also told Amazon to expect at least one public hearing before it decides whether to issue the certificate, according to DroneXL’s report on the MassDOT letter.
That changes the near-term operating timeline for a project Amazon previously described as potentially launching by the end of October. Massachusetts rules require a landing-area application at least 90 days before first use, and the certificate must be issued after the required inspection and public hearing. An application filed on October 22 would therefore not satisfy the 90-day lead-time requirement until January 20, 2027; that is a floor, not a projected launch date, because the approval process would still be pending.
The regulator’s review will cover more than paperwork. MassDOT said it will examine possible effects on public safety, including low-altitude flights over private property, the size and weight of the aircraft, coordination with public-safety agencies and other drone operators, and potential environmental impacts. Interim Transportation Secretary Phillip Eng said the agency will “carefully scrutinize their plans,” according to the report.
The letter arrives as Massachusetts lawmakers ask Gov. Maura Healey to freeze state processing of commercial drone-delivery certificates while a task force reviews siting rules. Healey’s office says it is evaluating its options, but has not endorsed the proposed freeze, the earlier report on the lawmakers’ request says.
Amazon’s Westborough operation remains a planned service, not an operational deployment. Local proceedings also remain unresolved, including a residents’ appeal scheduled for November 2 and a Planning Board hearing scheduled for November 10.