Amazon Air's Northeast routes and Amazon Now's 300-centre milestone resurface from a March move

Amazon had launched Delhi–Kolkata–Guwahati cargo routes back in March, initially operating three flights weekly, to serve seven Northeast states with delivery speeds it said could be up to five times faster. The company had also said Amazon Now exceeded 300 micro-fulfilment centres and was expanding beyond Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

— Source publishedFri, 13 Mar, 2026, 18:53 IST·First seen Sun, 27 Sept, 2026, 19:46 IST·Source Business Standard (via Wayback)

What happened

Amazon expanded Amazon Air to northeast India with Delhi-Kolkata-Guwahati routes, aiming for up to fivefold faster delivery. It also said Amazon Now has

Key facts

  • $35 billion investment in India by 2030
  • delivery speeds up to 5 times faster
  • 3 flights per week initially
  • 2 dedicated cargo aircraft currently
  • 7 northeastern states served
  • more than 18 lakh sellers
  • more than 300 micro-fulfillment centers

Why this matters

Amazon’s network build-out makes Northeast logistics, dark-store operators and regional delivery partners more strategically valuable targets or alliance candidates.

What to watch

  • Increase in Delhi-Kolkata-Guwahati flight frequency, addition of aircraft, or launch of new Northeast route pairs.
  • Delivery-promise changes for Assam and the other six served Northeast states, especially same-day, next-day and weekend coverage.
  • New Amazon fulfilment centres, sortation hubs, delivery stations or seller programmes in Guwahati, Shillong, Agartala, Imphal, Aizawl, Itanagar and Gangtok.
  • Amazon Now launch announcements outside the three current major metros and evidence of expanded ultra-fast delivery assortment.
  • Competitor announcements involving dedicated air cargo, Northeast warehousing, dark stores or faster-delivery guarantees.
  • Prime order growth, repeat rates, cancellation rates and delivery-exception trends in newly served Northeast catchments.
  • Add flight frequency or introduce additional Northeast gateways, particularly for peak-sale and festival periods.
  • Build regional sortation, cross-dock and seller-collection capacity around Guwahati to reduce dependence on long-haul inbound inventory.
  • Expand Amazon Now micro-fulfilment centres into tier-2 cities, prioritising dense catchments with strong Prime penetration.
  • Use faster delivery to push grocery, beauty, electronics accessories, pharmacy-adjacent and urgent-need assortments.
  • Increase local seller onboarding and inventory placement incentives to improve Northeast assortment and reduce air-freight dependence.
  • Test differentiated Prime benefits or delivery-fee thresholds to convert improved service levels into higher order frequency.