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US regulators have granted the first licenses for unmanned commercial aircraft to fly beyond the pilot’s line of sight—a groundbreaking move that fuels the mainstream adoption of drones.
Previously, commercial drone flights were restricted to the pilot’s visual range, even if the drone had autonomous capabilities. For longer distances, drone companies had to station ground staff every few miles to monitor the sky and relay any known obstacles.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) granted exemptions to these limitations to three companies just before and during the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas.
“This is a monumental development,” said Scott Shtofman, senior manager of government affairs at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International. “It significantly enhances our ability to scale and accelerate drone usage. We are moving beyond mere testing in specified areas.”
The companies receiving licenses are UPS Flight Forward, the drone division of a private mail courier; Phoenix Air Unmanned; and uAvionix.
Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO of Matternet, a dronemaker that supplies UPS, stated that this exemption would allow a pilot at the company’s remote operations center in Kentucky to operate drones in Florida.
“The military has been doing this for years, but this marks the first time it’s happening in the civilian space in the US,” he said.
The FAA, in approving one of the waivers, highlighted how drones provide “a quieter, cleaner, cheaper option to manned aircraft.”
These waivers come as a significant relief to the drone industry, which has been frustrated by regulatory delays that have not kept pace with technological advancements. The aviation framework that governs drones was established decades before unmanned aircraft even existed.
In July, the Commercial Drone Alliance, a non-profit organization supported by companies like Amazon, AT&T, Skydio, and Wing (an Alphabet subsidiary), critiqued the “regulatory paralysis” and advocated for exemptions. The alliance argued that the federal bureaucracy’s lack of agility was hindering the growth of the commercial drone industry.
“The current regulatory framework severely restricts many of the most promising commercial drone applications,” said Lisa Ellman, partner at Hogan Lovells law firm and executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance. “These approvals represent a significant step forward for the entire industry.”
The alliance anticipates that these new waivers will set a precedent for others to receive expedited approval. However, it is unlikely that there will be a fundamental change in the law to normalize complex drone operations in general, rather than relying on exemption-based approaches for specific companies, for another two to three years, according to experts.
Interestingly, Zipline, a California-based drone logistics service known for delivering blood and medicine in multiple African countries on round trips of up to 200km, has applied for an exemption but has not yet received one.
While FAA rules have limited Zipline, the world’s largest commercial drone operator, from offering similar services in the US, the company does partner with Walmart for shorter-range deliveries in suburban Arkansas.
Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, CEO of Zipline, declined to comment on the exemption request but expressed encouragement over the FAA’s recent actions.
“Currently, we rely on 4,000-pound gas combustion vehicles operated by humans to handle billions of deliveries across the country,” he said. “It’s expensive, slow, and harmful to the environment. [The FAA’s recent decisions] allow us to transition to delivery solutions that are ten times faster, more cost-effective, and emission-free.”
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