Amazon’s delivery drones, once a speculative vision of the future, now face a pressing issue: their noise levels. As the company seeks federal approval to expand its drone operations, the problem of excessive noise has become a significant hurdle.
Drones are inherently noisy machines, a fact anyone who has tried to relax while one hovers nearby can attest to. This problem is not unique to one area; in Australia, there have been ongoing complaints about the noise from Wing, an Alphabet-owned food delivery service that uses drones. Similarly, in Nepal, locals have described the sound of drones used by Sherpas to clean Mount Everest as akin to “a swarm of bees.”
John Case, an orthodontist from College Station, Texas—where Amazon is testing its drone delivery program—recently shared his experience with CNBC. He described an encounter with an Amazon drone, noting that it “sounds like a giant hive of bees.” He added, “You know it’s coming because it’s pretty loud.”
Amazon is currently seeking approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to extend its drone delivery service from College Station to Tolleson, Arizona. According to a report, Bryan Woods, the city manager of College Station, tested one of Amazon’s drones and found it produced noise levels ranging from 47 to 61 decibels. For context, decibel levels of 40 to 65 are comparable to those found in a typical suburban area at night, a household refrigerator, or an office, as per the Yale Environmental Health and Safety decibel comparison chart.
In May, Amazon proposed increasing the number of daily drone deliveries in College Station from 200 to 469. This proposal led to concerns from College Station Mayor John Nichols, who reported that residents near the Prime Air facility were increasingly frustrated with the noise. In a letter to the City Council, Nichols highlighted complaints about the noise during take-offs, landings, and some delivery operations.
Neither Amazon nor Mayor Nichols immediately responded to Business Insider’s request for comment. However, Amazon issued a statement to CNBC, expressing pride in its Prime Air program’s accomplishments and customer service. The statement emphasized, “We appreciate the community of College Station and take local feedback into account wherever possible when making operational decisions for Prime Air.”
As Amazon pursues its expansion goals, addressing the noise issue will be crucial for maintaining community support and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals.
