The Federal Aviation Administration has approved Amazon Prime Air's drone delivery operation in the Omaha area. Between the draft and the final environmental review, the expected flight altitudes changed. The noise appendix attached to the final decision did not.

The final document is the FAA's Finding of No Significant Impact and Record of Decision (FONSI/ROD) with its Final Environmental Assessment, dated September 2026. It covers MK30 deliveries from Amazon's OMA2 facility at 14248 NE-370 in Omaha, on land zoned Limited Industrial, in the Papillion area. The final assessment says drones will typically fly en route between about 205 and 370 feet above ground level (AGL), except when descending. Outbound flights are expected at 205 to 250 feet and inbound flights at 325 to 370 feet.

The draft the FAA published on June 23, 2026 gave different numbers. It expected en route altitudes of about 180 to 377 feet AGL, with outbound legs at 180 to 279 feet and inbound legs at 279 to 377 feet.

What changed between June and September

Comparing the two FAA PDFs shows three changes:

  • Floor: The lowest typical en route altitude rose from 180 feet to 205 feet.
  • Outbound band: It narrowed from 180-279 feet to 205-250 feet, so outbound drones now have a higher floor and a lower ceiling.
  • Inbound band: It narrowed from 279-377 feet to 325-370 feet.

In the draft, the outbound and inbound bands met at 279 feet. In the final, 75 feet separate them, with outbound ending at 250 feet and inbound starting at 325. Neither document says this is a separation measure, and it should not be read as one without the FAA saying so.

DroneXL reported the discrepancy. It says neither the decision document nor the FAA's responses to public comments explains why the altitudes changed. DroneXL counted 21 comment submissions during the review period, which ran from June 23 to July 22, 2026.

The noise appendix is unchanged

The final package includes Appendix E, "Estimated Noise Levels for Amazon Prime Air MK30 Drone." The FAA hosts it alongside the final assessment, but it is still dated September 2025, a full year before the decision. It models a typical outbound cruise altitude of 200 feet AGL within a 180-279 foot range, and an inbound cruise of 345 feet.

Those are the draft's outbound numbers, and the appendix's 180-279 foot and 279-377 foot ranges are the draft's bands. The 200-foot outbound cruise it models is below the 205-foot floor in the final assessment. The final assessment does acknowledge this: it says its noise analysis assumes a 205-foot outbound and 345-foot inbound en route altitude, calls 205 feet slightly lower than the typical 205-250 foot outbound range, and describes the analysis as conservative because flights at 205 feet would generate noise comparable to or slightly greater than flights higher in the range. It then points to the appendix tables for the en route result. The appendix itself, though, was not updated to the new bands.

That probably does not overturn the FAA's finding. The agency's significance threshold is DNL 65 dB, a day-night average sound level, and the final assessment puts the DNL 65 contour about 150 feet from the site. The final assessment says en route noise could reach DNL 46.0 dB at any location in the operating area, far below the threshold. Because drones flying the final bands are at or above the 205-foot altitude assumed, the FAA's reasoning is that real en route levels would be comparable to or lower than modeled. The gap is documentary: the appendix still carries the draft's profile and was not reissued.

DroneXL also reports that in its comment responses the FAA says there will be no "ongoing noise monitoring" once flights begin. If so, the modeled estimates will be the main record of how loud the operation was expected to be.

The scale of the approval

The final assessment covers up to 1,000 MK30 flights per day, 365 days a year, or about 365,000 delivery operations annually. It gives the MK30's operating range as 7.5 miles from the site. The FONSI is signed by Joseph Hemler, Manager of the AFS-752 General Aviation and Commercial Operations Branch in the FAA's Emerging Technologies Division. As a final order, it can be challenged in the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

DroneXL reports a signing date of September 9, 2026. The signature date line in the PDF text we extracted is blank, so that date comes from DroneXL alone.

DroneXL reports the decision also came after deliveries had started. It says that MK30 deliveries from Papillion began on July 30, nearly six weeks before the September 9 signing. When WOWT reported Amazon's request in early July, the company said the service would carry items under 5 pounds and that about 60% of frequently purchased items would qualify. WOWT also reported that the public could comment on the draft by emailing [email protected] until July 22. Amazon spokesperson Andy DiOrio gave the company's comment to WOWT.

DroneXL reports one wildlife condition carried into the final text: a 1,000-foot (305-meter) separation around eagle nests that Amazon identifies.

The Richardson precedent

Omaha is not the first Amazon site where altitude has been an issue. DroneXL notes that after complaints in Richardson, Texas, Amazon raised its average outbound altitude there to 225 feet. That is inside Omaha's new 205-250 foot outbound band.

The FAA documents do not say the Omaha changes followed Richardson. DroneXL, which reported the Richardson change, does not link the two either.

Why It Matters

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review is the main public record of what a drone delivery operation is expected to do to the people below it. Residents who commented on the Omaha draft were responding to a 180-foot outbound floor; DroneXL says two commenters quoted the draft's band. The final decision describes a 205-foot floor, while its noise appendix still models the earlier numbers.

Changing parameters between draft and final is normal and often responds to public comments. Leaving the change unexplained and the technical appendix unrevised is a weaker practice. Amazon is seeking FAA approval for Prime Air operations site by site. If the altitude profile can change without the technical appendix being reissued, later reviews could repeat the mismatch. And if, as DroneXL reports the FAA says, there is no post-approval noise monitoring, the modeled estimates are the only official noise analysis on record.

The effect on Omaha residents is probably small: higher flights are generally quieter, and the FAA's own text calls its 205-foot assumption conservative. The concern is consistency. The FAA's own documents now describe two different flight profiles for the same operation, and DroneXL reports that none of them explains why.

Sources