Amazon Gets Provisional Permission To Use Delivery Drones
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
FAA ruling will allow Amazon to fly drones, but with a host of restrictions.
The FAA has issued a new ruling that clears the use of drone delivery by Amazon, but the victory is accompanied by a host of restrictions for use.
The ruling means that Amazon can now begin testing delivery drones outdoors. Amazon has conducted indoor testing in its Washington facility. The ruling comes after Amazon threatened to take its drone development abroad, according to Live Science.
The new proposed rules would not go into effect for at least a year, according to ABC News.
Bu the ruling is not exactly a coup for Amazon, since it does come with strings attached. The FAA proposed rules state that the drones will have to remain within sightline of the pilot, drone pilots must have a minimum of a private pilot’s certificate, and drones will only be able to fly during daylight and in clear weather conditions. Drones will also be limited to 400 feet or below, according to the FAA.
The FAA will also require monthly reporting from Amazon on the number of flights conducted, number of hours pilots flew, and a list of any and all malfunctions or deviations from air traffic controllers’ instructions.
In a statement to ABC News, vice president of global public policy at Amazon Paul Misener said that Amazon is “committed to realizing our vision for Prime Air and are prepared to deploy where we have the regulatory support we need.” And in a letter to FAA regulators in December, Misener said that Amazon was already conducting outdoor tests of its delivery drones in countries "with regulatory environments more supportive" of drone innovation.
However, not everyone sees the ruling as a positive move for drone innovation and development. Attorney Brendan Schulman, an expert in drone policy, told Live Science. “It signals that the FAA is requiring an experimental airworthiness certificate just to design and test drones. That, in my view, is not viable path for innovation in this field.”
To date, many companies have been investing in drone development without being subjected to the tight reins being imposed by the FAA. Schulman explained, “I’ve seen hundreds of amazing products designed without these certificates. What the FAA is implicitly saying is that all those businesses need to stop what they’re doing right now before even testing their products. Companies in this industry ought to be concerned with this approach.”
The FAA's proposal is still open to public comment for another month on the U.S. Federal Register, and it will likely take at least a year for any of the proposed regulations to become law.