Zipline wants up to 65,000 drone deliveries a day in each of five Texas metros, and the FAA is taking comments until October 11
The FAA's draft environmental assessment covers Amarillo, Austin, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio, with flights 24 hours a day. Comments go by email to the FAA through October 11.
By Joel Kelly
Read the draft and comment by Oct 11
Decision brief
If you live in one of these metros, this is the stage where your comment goes into the record. The FAA reviews noise, land use, wildlife, and historic sites here. Local zoning still decides where docks and pickup kiosks go, so city hearings are a second place to be heard.
- Comments due
- Oct. 11, 2026
- Metros
- 5
- Daily maximum
- 30,000 to 65,000
Email 9-FAA-Drone-Environmental@faa.gov, subject: Zipline Texas Draft EA
Amarillo, Austin, El Paso, Houston, San Antonio
Deliveries per day per metro, depending on the area
What the FAA is reviewing
Five metros, thousands of pickup kiosks, flights around the clock.
Zipline is seeking FAA approval to begin commercial package delivery in five Texas metropolitan areas: Amarillo, Austin, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio. The FAA posted a draft environmental assessment dated September 11 for a 30-day comment period. It asks for comments by October 11, 2026, sent to 9-FAA-Drone-Environmental@faa.gov with Zipline Texas Draft EA in the subject line.
The proposal gives each metro 30 to 65 Zipline Chargers and 600 to 1,300 Dropboxes, which are pickup kiosks, with a maximum of 30,000 to 65,000 deliveries per day depending on the area. Each Charger could hold up to 72 docks and launch up to 1,000 deliveries a day. The FAA says Chargers and Dropboxes would sit in established commercial areas such as retail stores and warehouses, where local zoning allows them.
The aircraft and the hours
A 63-pound aircraft, mostly daytime, some night flying.
Zipline proposes flying 24 hours a day, every day, with its Platform 2 aircraft. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 63 pounds, including up to 8 pounds of payload. Zipline expects about 95 percent of flights between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and about 5 percent at night. The draft studies noise, land use, wildlife including bats, historic properties, and other effects. It notes that Texas cities vary in how they review commercial sites.
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