Overview
- Residents in Auburn Hills and nearby neighborhoods have lodged growing complaints this week about Amazon Prime Air flights, citing noise, frequent overflights and worries that drone cameras could invade privacy.
- City leaders say they do not have legal authority to regulate the flights and have reported resident concerns to Amazon and the Federal Aviation Administration.
- Mayor Eugene Hawkins III said the FAA has told the city that Amazon is operating within federal law, leaving any formal limits to the agency.
- Amazon says onboard cameras are used only for navigation and obstacle detection, that it does not track people, and that local customer response has been largely positive.
- Auburn Hills has opened a public information page to collect complaints and plans a fall review with Amazon and the FAA to examine flight data and explore possible changes to routes or altitudes; typical drone runs are reported at about 200–250 feet, near 70 mph, carrying up to five pounds.