FAA regulatory move could mean more drone deliveries

The Federal Aviation Administration has loosened drone restrictions for two Dallas-area delivery companies, potentially expanding the ability of package delivery companies across the United States to use unmanned aircraft.

Zipline International and Wing Aviation — which operate in the Dallas area and deliver by drone for Walmart — were granted authorization from the FAA to operate in a shared airspace and deliver packages while keeping their drones safely apart.

Walmart is the largest company to expand drone services in the Dallas area. The company announced this year plans to add 1.8 million North Texas households to its drone delivery range.

The company said its drone delivery expansion includes stores across more than 30 towns and municipalities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

The move is a first for the FAA, which has never previously authorized multiple operators to fly commercial drones without visual operators in the same airspace.

Typically, when operating drones, the drone pilot must be able to always see the aircraft. However, new advancements in air traffic technology and procedures are providing a key step toward making these Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights routine, the FAA said.

Using Unmanned Traffic Management System (UTM) services, companies can share data and planned flight routes with other authorized airspace users.

“This allows the operators to safely organize and manage drone flights around each other in shared airspace,” the FAA explained. “All flights occur below 400 feet altitude and away from any crewed aircraft. The FAA expects initial flights using UTM services will begin in August and issuing more authorizations in the Dallas area soon.”

The change comes amid ongoing work by the FAA to release the Normalizing UAS BVLOS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would enable drone operators to expand operations while maintaining the same high level of safety as traditional aviation. “We are on track to release the NPRM this year, following strong Congressional support in the recent FAA reauthorization,” the FAA said.

Photo by HadasBandel