Amazon Air Prime Completes First Drone Delivery in Just 13 Minutes

Amazon’s Prime Air service has completed its first drone delivery to a lucky customer in the Cambridge area of the UK, who ordered an Amazon Fire Stick streaming device and a bag of popcorn. Its duration, from the moment the order was first placed to its completion, was just 13 short minutes– heralding a future of near-instant delivery on demand, federal regulations permitting. The UK has permitted Amazon to test its drones within its pilot’s line of sight.

The delivery was as simple for Amazon as it was for Richard, the man who placed the order. A single Amazon employee packed up the device and snack and handed it to a drone, which took care of the rest. Amazon has short-term plans to carry out deliveries to two more customers in the region, and envisages expanding its drone delivery operations to hundreds more in the coming months.

Drone deliveries will be limited by weight to less than 5 pounds and only occur during daytime when the weather is bright. Quartz has also conjectured, based on video of the delivery, that they may also require a field large enough to accommodate a drone landing– which raises questions about the logistics of urban deliveries. Otherwise, the sky’s the limit for Prime Air orders.

“Prime Air has great potential to enhance the services we already provide to millions of customers by providing rapid parcel delivery that will also increase the overall safety and efficiency of the transportation system,” Amazon said in a statement.