diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index 1f9f9f753..3419f5c36 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ Instance `dmesg`:
 
 | Command | Implemented Flags | Missing Flags | Prerequisites | Basic Logic | Test Cases | Status |
 |---------|-------------------|---------------|---------------|-------------|------------|--------|
-| `describe-regions` | *(returns configured region from config — all input params ignored)* | `--region-names`, `--filters`, `--all-regions`, `--dry-run` | None | Return configured region from hive init config (e.g. us-east-1) → local-only response, no NATS | 1. List all regions<br>2. Filter by region name<br>3. Verify endpoint URL returned | **DONE** |
-| `describe-availability-zones` | — | `--zone-names`, `--filters`, `--all-availability-zones` | None | Return configured AZ from hive init (e.g. ap-southeast-2a) → single AZ for Hive v1 | 1. List all AZs<br>2. Filter by zone name<br>3. Verify zone state is available | **NOT STARTED** |
+| `describe-regions` | *(returns configured region, endpoint, opt-in status from config — input params ignored)* | `--region-names`, `--filters`, `--all-regions`, `--dry-run` | None | Return configured region from hive init config with Endpoint and OptInStatus → local-only response, no NATS | 1. List all regions<br>2. Filter by region name<br>3. Verify endpoint URL returned<br>4. Verify OptInStatus returned | **DONE** |
+| `describe-availability-zones` | *(returns configured AZ, region, zone ID, state, opt-in status from config — input params ignored)* | `--zone-names`, `--filters`, `--all-availability-zones` | None | Return configured AZ from hive init config with zone ID, state, group name, network border group → local-only response, no NATS | 1. List all AZs<br>2. Filter by zone name<br>3. Verify zone state is available<br>4. Verify region name matches config | **DONE** |
 
 ### EC2 - VPC Networking (Core)
 
diff --git a/hive/gateway/ec2.go b/hive/gateway/ec2.go
index f29fb0fe6..7a6941f06 100644
--- a/hive/gateway/ec2.go
+++ b/hive/gateway/ec2.go
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ import (
 	gateway_ec2_image "github.com/mulgadc/hive/hive/gateway/ec2/image"
 	gateway_ec2_instance "github.com/mulgadc/hive/hive/gateway/ec2/instance"
 	gateway_ec2_key "github.com/mulgadc/hive/hive/gateway/ec2/key"
-	gateway_ec2_regions "github.com/mulgadc/hive/hive/gateway/ec2/regions"
 	gateway_ec2_volume "github.com/mulgadc/hive/hive/gateway/ec2/volume"
+	gateway_ec2_zone "github.com/mulgadc/hive/hive/gateway/ec2/zone"
 	"github.com/mulgadc/hive/hive/utils"
 )
 
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ func (gw *GatewayConfig) EC2_Request(ctx *fiber.Ctx) error {
 			return err
 		}
 
-		output, err := gateway_ec2_regions.DescribeRegions(input, gw.Region)
+		output, err := gateway_ec2_zone.DescribeRegions(input, gw.Region)
 
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -305,6 +305,28 @@ func (gw *GatewayConfig) EC2_Request(ctx *fiber.Ctx) error {
 			return errors.New("failed to marshal response to XML")
 		}
 
+	case "DescribeAvailabilityZones":
+		var input = &ec2.DescribeAvailabilityZonesInput{}
+		err = awsec2query.QueryParamsToStruct(queryArgs, input)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		output, err := gateway_ec2_zone.DescribeAvailabilityZones(input, gw.Region, gw.AZ)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		// Convert to XML
+		payload := utils.GenerateXMLPayload("DescribeAvailabilityZonesResponse", output)
+		xmlOutput, err = utils.MarshalToXML(payload)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			return errors.New("failed to marshal response to XML")
+		}
+
 	case "DescribeVolumes":
 		var input = &ec2.DescribeVolumesInput{}
 		err = awsec2query.QueryParamsToStruct(queryArgs, input)
diff --git a/hive/gateway/ec2/regions/DescribeRegions.go b/hive/gateway/ec2/regions/DescribeRegions.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 7c6f05d2b..000000000
--- a/hive/gateway/ec2/regions/DescribeRegions.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-package gateway_ec2_regions
-
-import (
-	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws"
-	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/ec2"
-)
-
-// uses the loaded config file to get the region.
-func DescribeRegions(input *ec2.DescribeRegionsInput, region string) (output *ec2.DescribeRegionsOutput, err error) {
-
-	output = &ec2.DescribeRegionsOutput{
-		Regions: []*ec2.Region{
-			{
-				RegionName: aws.String(region),
-			},
-		}}
-
-	return output, nil
-}
diff --git a/hive/gateway/ec2/zone/AvailabilityZone.go b/hive/gateway/ec2/zone/AvailabilityZone.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c525a0c54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hive/gateway/ec2/zone/AvailabilityZone.go
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+package gateway_ec2_zone
+
+import (
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/ec2"
+)
+
+func DescribeAvailabilityZones(input *ec2.DescribeAvailabilityZonesInput, region string, az string) (output *ec2.DescribeAvailabilityZonesOutput, err error) {
+
+	output = &ec2.DescribeAvailabilityZonesOutput{
+		AvailabilityZones: []*ec2.AvailabilityZone{
+			{
+				State:              aws.String("available"),
+				OptInStatus:        aws.String("opt-in-not-required"),
+				RegionName:         aws.String(region),
+				ZoneName:           aws.String(az),
+				ZoneId:             aws.String("hivez1"),
+				GroupName:          aws.String(region),
+				NetworkBorderGroup: aws.String(region),
+				ZoneType:           aws.String("availability-zone"),
+				Messages:           []*ec2.AvailabilityZoneMessage{},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	return output, nil
+}
+
+func DescribeRegions(input *ec2.DescribeRegionsInput, region string) (output *ec2.DescribeRegionsOutput, err error) {
+
+	output = &ec2.DescribeRegionsOutput{
+		Regions: []*ec2.Region{
+			{
+				Endpoint:    aws.String("https://localhost:9999"),
+				RegionName:  aws.String(region),
+				OptInStatus: aws.String("opt-in-not-required"),
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	return output, nil
+}
diff --git a/hive/gateway/gateway.go b/hive/gateway/gateway.go
index e50a1f2b4..ce2094f59 100644
--- a/hive/gateway/gateway.go
+++ b/hive/gateway/gateway.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ type GatewayConfig struct {
 	Config         string     // Shared AWS Gateway config for S3 auth
 	ExpectedNodes  int        // Number of expected hive nodes for multi-node operations
 	Region         string     // Region this gateway is running in
+	AZ             string     // Availability zone this gateway is running in
 	AccessKey      string     // AWS Access Key ID for authentication
 	SecretKey      string     // AWS Secret Access Key for authentication
 }
diff --git a/hive/services/awsgw/awsgw.go b/hive/services/awsgw/awsgw.go
index e667bba06..c1ea0729d 100644
--- a/hive/services/awsgw/awsgw.go
+++ b/hive/services/awsgw/awsgw.go
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ func launchService(config *config.ClusterConfig) (err error) {
 		Config:         nodeConfig.AWSGW.Config,
 		ExpectedNodes:  len(config.Nodes),
 		Region:         nodeConfig.Region,
+		AZ:             nodeConfig.AZ,
 		AccessKey:      nodeConfig.AccessKey,
 		SecretKey:      nodeConfig.SecretKey,
 	}