Amazon Seeks To Bring Drone Delivery To North Haven Facility, Public Comments Sought

NORTH HAVEN, CT — Amazon is seeking federal approval to bring its drone-delivery service to its North Haven facility.

Town officials said that Amazon plans to fly up to 1,000 drone deliveries a day out of its North Haven warehouse to addresses within 7.5 miles of its facility (covering North Haven, Hamden, Wallingford, and New Haven).

North Haven state Rep. David Yaccarino and state Sen. Paul Cicarella co-signed a recent letter from state Rep. Vincent Candelora, who represents Durham, East Haven, Guilford, and North Branford, to Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Emma Cimino expressing their “sincere concern regarding Amazon's proposed electric drone package delivery operations ("Prime Air") based in North Haven.”

“Prime Air relies on a fleet of roughly 80-pound drones, each with six arms and multiple propellers, launched from a local distribution center with an operating radius of approximately 7.5 miles,” the letter states. “The drones are designed to deliver packages up to roughly five pounds within 30 minutes of order placement. FAA guidance for this type of operation calls for cruise altitudes of roughly 225 to 400 feet above ground level. In communities where Prime Air has already launched, however, residents have documented - on video - drones flying as low as 150 feet, well below the represented operating range.

“Prime Air has been operating in Richardson, Texas, a suburb whose experience was recently profiled in the New York Times because of the problems residents there have reported. Those complaints include near-constant drone traffic in the airspace above private residences; noise residents describe as more intrusive than a lawn mower and audible over television indoors; and a pattern of flights below the advertised altitude range. These are not speculative or theoretical harms - they are the documented, ongoing experience of a community with an operation materially identical to the one proposed for North Haven, and DEEP should weigh them accordingly.”

Town officials are advising residents that the deadline to submit public comments to DEEP regarding the project is Oct. 1.

Read more from the Town of North Haven below:

According to FAA information describing the proposed Prime Air operating model:

• Amazon would use its electric MK30 delivery drones
• The drones have a maximum operating range of approximately 7.5 miles
• Operations could occur 7 days a week
• Proposed operating hours are 6:00 AM – 10:30 PM
• Amazon is seeking authorization for up to 1,000 delivery flights per operating day

Please Note: 1,000 flights is the maximum proposed operating level — it does not mean 1,000 drones will immediately be flying every day. Actual activity could vary based on demand, weather and other factors.

The FAA has submitted the proposed North Haven operation to Connecticut DEEP for a Coastal Consistency Review.

DEEP is reviewing whether the proposed federal action is consistent with the enforceable policies of Connecticut’s federally approved Coastal Management Program.

As part of that review, the public is currently invited to submit comments. This is your time to voice your comments.

COMMENTS ARE DUE OCTOBER 1, 2026

Comments may be emailed to:

Karen.Michaels@ct.gov.

>>>Read the full letter from Candelora and the state delegation here.