|
 Commercial drone flights are generally banned in the United States,
except in a small number of cases where the FAA has granted an
exemption. The has agency received more than 750 requests for
exemptions to the ban, but has awarded only 48.
Now the U.S. aviation regulator intends to streamline the process by
no longer requiring companies with exemptions to obtain a new
certificate of authority for each new use of a drone, the people
familiar with the matter said.
The FAA could announce the change next week, ahead of a
congressional hearing on drones scheduled for Tuesday, these people
added.
The FAA had no immediate comment. The agency has been taking
measured steps to ease restrictions on commercial use of drones.
The change in policy could be a positive signal to a wide swath of
companies that are pushing for federal regulators to remove barriers
to commercial uses of automated aircraft, and help foster growth of
an emerging sector of manufacturers and service providers built
around drone technology.
The rule changes also would be a boost for companies that already
have exemptions from the commercial drone ban, such as Chevron
<CVX.N>, Berkshire Hathaway's BNSF Railway Co <BRKa.N>, State Farm
Mutual Automobile Insurance Co, and a number of film and media
companies. Those companies could get more flexibility to use
pilotless aircraft for rail and pipeline inspections, crop surveys
and aerial photography for commercials or movies.
Companies awaiting exemptions from the overall ban could also
benefit, including Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O> and Yamaha Motor Co
<7272.T>.
On Thursday, Amazon got FAA clearance to experiment with drones at
an outdoor facility in Washington state under a different set of
federal rules. Amazon hopes to develop drones capable of delivering
packages to customer doorsteps.
[to top of second column] |
Industry lobbyists have criticized the current process as too slow.
Companies with approval to fly unmanned aircraft must obtain
government permission each time they intend to use drones for a new
project. They must fill out and get FAA approval for a two-page
"certificate of authority" before each flight specifying where, when
and how long the drone will fly.
The process of authorizing specific flights has bogged down, said
Mark Dombroff, a partner in the drone practice of McKenna, Long and
Aldridge. In one case, Dombroff said, applicants sought permission
to fly over an area of land, but the FAA "wanted us to apply for
every farm individually."
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told industry representatives at a
recent meeting that his agency was moving to streamline the process,
the sources added.
In February, the FAA proposed rules that would lift the current ban
on most commercial drone use. But industry representatives say it
could be years before the ban is lifted, leaving businesses to
follow the cumbersome exemption process for now.
(Reporting by David Morgan in Washington, additional reporting by
Alwyn Scott, editing by Soyoung Kim and Joe White)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
