‘You look up and there it is’: Amazon Prime Air drone delivery service underway in South suburbs

Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery option launched recently in the South and Southwest suburbs, catching some residents and officials off guard and raising questions about noise and safety.

Drone delivery began from Amazon’s Markham location Oct. 12, and is available in a 7.5-mile radius around the distribution center, 2201 W. 159th St. Communities in the radius include Homewood, Harvey and South Holland.

“It’s new,” said Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld. “You just don’t know until you look up and there it is.”

Amazon said in August it planned to bring Prime Air to almost 500 cities and towns by the year end.

Homewood didn’t receive any warning or communication from Amazon before the service launched, Hofeld said.

The Prime Air service will soon begin from the Matteson location, 7001 Vollmer Road, Amazon economic development manager Sam Bailey said, though he didn’t give an exact date.

“What we’ve found is this service is in high demand here in Markham,” Bailey said.

The Markham site has generally hit its maximum capacity of 300 drone orders daily, Bailey said, with thousands of orders delivered by 21 drones across the 7.5-mile radius.

Scaling up is “something that we’re always considering,” Bailey said.

“For right now, we’ve thrilled to have launched the site just in time for the holidays,” Bailey said. “We’re also excited to be launching Matteson, which will also add to our capacity as well.”

Amazon received approval from Markham to construct the drone takeoff and landing site as well as from the Federal Aviation Authority to use the airspace, he said.

The drones are relatively loud when they are close to the ground, with the sound of takeoffs and landings occasionally drowning out speakers at a ribbon-cutting event Tuesday at the Markham center.

“At the point of delivery they top out at 68 decibels,” Bailey said. “It’s very brief exposure and it only occurs during daytime hours.”

The drones can deliver packages up to 5 pounds. Sixty percent of the inventory at the Markham center is deliverable by drone, Bailey said.

The drones have forward-facing cameras, Bailey said, which are strictly used for navigation.

“This drone does not have surveillance-like technology,” he said. “The footage would only be utilized in the event of an incident or an emergency, but that footage is not viewed, and the drone does not have the ability to view license plates, faces, scan, take pictures.”

Bailey cast Prime Air as an option for people to order small necessities at urgent times.

“Think of parents, seniors, those who might not be able to leave their home,” Bailey said. “That sick kid, and you find that your children’s medicine is expired, diapers, the essentials you need in that moment.”

Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa and members of the Markham City Council cut a ribbon Tuesday to symbolize the program’s launch.

“We’re all benefiting,” Agpawa said at Tuesday. “This is another piece of economic development, and a very strong piece, at that, because it’s providing a different type of a service.”

Agpawa compared the drone program to “The Jetsons.” He said he had ordered drone delivery shortly after the program launched.

“I think it might have been vitamins,” Agpawa said. “My neighbors came out, and I was turning the corner to come home and I was taking a picture of it. It was pretty exciting.”

Some people have voiced safety concerns, he said, though he didn’t view Amazon’s drones as any more dangerous than smaller recreational drones.

Residents have also expressed concerns about the noise, he said.

“When you have thousands of people in a community, there’s going to be a couple that just don’t want the noise, and some that are going to question whether it’s going to run into my house or you’re going to hit the dog or the kids,” Agpawa said.

He said Amazon addressed those concerns to his full satisfaction, he said.

“Nothing is ever foolproof,” Agpawa said.

Homewood has already heard complaints from some residents, Hofeld said. In the comments responding to Homewood’s social media post about the drones, reactions ranged from enthusiasm to outright hostility.

“People were questioning why they were being flown,” Hofeld said. “They were questioning about notification and how they were going to be aware of them.”

Bailey said customers should clear the area when a drone delivery is incoming. The drones drop packages from about 12 feet. If the drone detects movement in the area, he said, the delivery will be canceled.

“You want your kids inside the house,” Bailey said. “We will not drop a package in an unsafe location. People who want to stand below and try to catch it, don’t do that.”

The village of Thornton Recreation Department said preschool children witnessed a drone delivery to Cora Court.

Several municipalities, including Homewood and Dolton, issued statements encouraging residents to contact amazondronefeedback@amazon.com with any concerns about drone noise, deliveries and property damage.

Safety concerns can also be reported to the Federal Aviation Administration at hotline.faa.gov, officials said.

elewis@chicagotribune.com