Amazon says the approval is an “important step” but it is still testing and flying the drones.

It hasn’t yet said when it expected drones to make deliveries to shoppers.

The online shopping giant has been working on drone delivery for years but it has been slowed by regulatory hurdles.

CEO and founder Jeff Bezos said in a December 2013 TV interview drones would be flying to customer’s homes within five years.

Last year, Amazon unveiled self-piloting drones that are fully electric, can carry 2.25 kiograms of goods and are designed to deliver items in 30 minutes by dropping them in a backyard.

At the time, an Amazon executive said deliveries to shoppers would be happening “within months”.

Seattle-based Amazon is the third drone delivery service to win flight approval, the FAA said.

Delivery company UPS and a company owned by search giant Google won approval last year.

-AAP