FAA Authorizes First Commercial Use Of BVLOS Drone Operations

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today (July 30) it has authorized the first commercial drone flights without visual observers. The green light comes in Dallas-area airspace and goes to Zipline International and Wing Aviation. The two entities may now deliver packages while keeping their unmanned aircraft separated using technology provided by Unmanned Aircraft System Management (UTM).

Operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) under rigorous FAA safety oversight is made possible by new advancements in air traffic technology, according to the agency announcement. The new procedures provide “a key step toward making these BVLOS flights routine.”

The FAA wrote: “Using 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. 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 FAA is working to release a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on normalizing BVLOS operations for drones. The NPRM would allow operators to safely expand drone operations. The FAA wrote, “We are on track to release the NPRM later this year, following strong Congressional support in the recent FAA reauthorization.”