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Amazon, Google’s parent Alphabet, and UPS all hope to one day deliver large amounts of goods by drone. New US government rules clear some hurdles to making that dream a reality.
The Federal Aviation Administration finalized new rules for small, unmanned drones on Monday that could pave the way for expanded commercial uses of the vehicles, including delivery services.
For the first time, the FAA will allow small commercial drones to fly short distances over people and at night without a waiver. Small drones will also be permitted to fly over moving vehicles under limited conditions.
In a change from a previous proposed draft of the rules, drone operators must also have their remote pilot certificates on their persons and ready to be displayed if challenged by the authorities.
The rules apply to drone operators who use their unmanned aircraft for work or business under the FAA’s Part 107 regulations. As many as 1.7 million drones have been registered with the FAA as well as more than 203,000 drone pilots, the agency said.
