The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should “move forward expeditiously with an overdue rulemaking providing for scaled, safe beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations in US airspace”, according to the bipartisan leaders and members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Aviation Subcommittee.
The members of Congress sent a letter on October 21 to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker. The letter notes the importance of establishing a performance-based framework for BVLOS operations of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which became law on May 16, 2024, included a provision directing the FAA to do so, requiring the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) within four months of enactment and a final rule within twenty months of enactment.
“The deadline to issue an NPRM has passed, and it is now our understanding that the proposed rule may not be issued until January 2025, at the earliest. It is concerning [that] the failure to comply with statutory instructions may also result in the delay of a final rule,” said the lawmakers in their letter.
The committee members noted that, although the FAA has provided waivers and exemptions for some BVLOS operations, the current process continues to stifle innovation with regulatory uncertainty and complexity. The letter says a final rule will “unlock the full benefits of BVLOS operations across local communities and our national economy, including in the public safety, medical, logistics, and agricultural industries”.
“Furthermore, a timely rulemaking will build on years of work by the FAA, the industry, conventional airspace users, and other stakeholders to ensure the necessary standards and processes are in place to safely foster advanced drone operations into United States skies.”
The members called on DOT and the FAA to work in a safe and expeditious manner to issue the rulemaking and requested notification of any anticipated implementation delays, as well as how such delays will be addressed. As yet, there has been no comment on the letter from either DOT or the FAA.
For more information
Letter to DOT and the FAA on BVLOS rulemaking
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