Amazon Delivery by Drone? Sorry, Not in D.C.

Package delivery in under 30 minutes from Amazon via drone delivery? It’s inching closer to reality. On Cyber Monday, the company unveiled a prototype of the drones they plan to use for its Amazon Prime Air service (watch a video below).

Soon, Amazon says, customers will be able to check off a box for delivery by drone. The company says its 55-pound drones, flying at an altitude under 400 feet, will deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds in under 30 minutes. Walmart and Google say they are also working on delivery by drone, according to USA Today.

Perfect for procrastinators, right? And no parking or waiting in long lines.

But what about Amazon customers in the nation’s capital? Will they be out of luck? The District of Columbia and any neighborhoods within a 30-mile radius of Reagan National Airport are a “No Drone Zone,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Federal rules prohibit any aircraft from operating in the Flight Restricted Zone around the nation’s capital without specific approval, which includes all unmanned aircraft, the FAA says.

The airspace around Washington, D.C. is more restricted than in any other part of the country, according to the FAA. Rules put in place after the 9/11 attacks establish “national defense airspace” over the area and limit aircraft operations to those with an FAA and Transportation Security Administration authorization. Violators face stiff fines and criminal penalties.

DC isn’t the only area that is regulating its airspace. Pew Charitable Trusts notes in a report in September that several states have “no drone zones.”

According to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), an industry-supported group, at least six states—Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon and Virginia—have passed legislation restricting the commercial use of drones. Another eight have restrictive legislation pending, Pew reported.