(Bloomberg) — Commercial drone operators will have an easier time using and testing their devices in the U.S. after the Federal Aviation Administration said it has loosened some requirements for obtaining government permission to fly.
The FAA has awarded 48 waivers for commercial drone use under a program created by Congress to allow flights while the agency completes more formal regulations. Under that process, a company has had to petition the FAA for every type of instance and location where it wanted to use a drone for commercial purposes.
The FAA said Tuesday that such waivers will now provide blanket permission to use the drones anywhere in the U.S. as long as operators follow certain height and safety restrictions. The drones can't go any higher than 200 feet (61 meters) from the ground and must steer clear of airports and restricted airspaces, the FAA said in a statement. The rules apply to unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms).
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
