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Lowe's and Amazon both started drone delivery on September 24, one in Charlotte and one outside Cleveland

Lowe's began selling through a Lowe's by Drone storefront in the DoorDash app, flown by Wing from its Matthews, N.C., store. The same day Amazon opened its first Ohio Prime Air site in North Randall, with 21 drones and a 7.5-mile radius. Two days later the window to challenge the FAA's national delivery approval in court closed.

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Two Amazon Prime Air MK30 delivery drones, one parked on a launch pad and one flying nearby
Two Amazon Prime Air MK30 delivery drones, one parked on a launch pad and one flying nearby.

Decision brief

Nothing changes for how you fly. What changed is who is selling by drone and how easily a new site gets approved. Lowe's joined an existing Wing network instead of building its own. Amazon added a state. The court window on the FAA's nationwide environmental approval closed on September 26, and Drone Authority found no petition in public dockets or news reports by September 27. If a hub is proposed near you, the town's zoning and permit process is now the main place to be heard.

Lowe's
Matthews, N.C.

Wing via DoorDash, about 2.5 lb per flight, as fast as 20 minutes

Amazon
North Randall, Ohio

First Ohio site, 21 drones, 7.5-mile radius, per WKYC

Court window
Closed Sept. 26

No petition found in public records or news by Sept. 27

What launched

A home improvement chain and a new Amazon state, on the same Thursday.

Lowe's announced drone delivery on Thursday, September 24, as a pilot at its store in Matthews, North Carolina. Customers order through a Lowe's by Drone storefront in the DoorDash app, and Wing flies the orders. Lowe's says deliveries can arrive in as little as 20 minutes and that Wing drones carry about 2.5 pounds per flight. The first catalog is small: hand tools, paint products, soap, tape, cleaner, and batteries. Lowe's says the pilot builds on the drone delivery Wing and DoorDash already run in the Charlotte area.

The same day, Amazon opened Prime Air at its fulfillment center in North Randall, Ohio. WKYC and Crain's Cleveland Business reported the launch from Amazon's announcement. Customers within 7.5 miles can order items that weigh five pounds or less and fit in a large shoebox. WKYC reported that the site has 21 drones and that Amazon expects to add 55 jobs there. Amazon's published fees are free for Prime orders of $50 or more, $2.99 for smaller Prime orders, and $4.99 without Prime. WKYC noted that the new announcement promised delivery in two hours or less. Amazon's August material had said most orders arrive in about an hour.

Why it was fast

Wing's Charlotte approval already allowed 25 hubs.

Wing's Charlotte network already has its federal paperwork. The FAA's environmental review page shows Wing operating there under a 2024 North Carolina programmatic assessment. An April 2025 re-evaluation raised the ceiling to 25 hub locations from the six first proposed. That is how a national retailer can go live at one store without a new federal study.

What comes next

The federal window closed. Local permits are where the argument moves.

The timing lines up with the end of a legal window. On July 28 the FAA signed a nationwide environmental approval for Part 135 package delivery. Anyone with a substantial interest had 60 days to ask a federal appeals court to review it, which ran to September 26. Drone Authority checked public court records and news coverage on September 27 and found no petition. Appeals court filings can take a few days to show up in public search, so we will check the dockets again. The approval also says operators must follow state and local consent and permit rules for land those governments manage. For neighbors of a proposed hub, that makes zoning and permits the main place to raise concerns.

The FAA's nationwide delivery approvalWhat the July 28 assessment covers, the 600-foot hub setback, and the 60-day court window.Part 108 statusThe beyond visual line of sight rule that delivery is expected to move to.

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