Alphabet's drone delivery business cleared for takeoff by FAA
The company also recently won approval for drone deliveries from regulators in Australia.
An offshoot of Alphabet Inc.’s Google has become the first drone operator to receive government approval as an airline, an important step that gives it the legal authority to begin dropping products to actual customers.
The subsidiary, Wing, now has the same certifications that smaller airlines receive from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation. It plans to begin routine deliveries of small consumer items in two rural communities in Virginia within months, the company said.
“It’s an exciting moment for us to have earned the FAA’s approval to actually run a business with our technology,” Wing CEO James Ryan Burgess said in an interview. He called it “pivotal” both for his company and the drone industry in general.
Drone regulations still don’t permit most flights over crowds and urban areas, limiting where Wing can operate. But the approvals signed by the FAA give the company the ability to charge for deliveries of clients’ goods in Virginia and apply for permission to expand to other regions.
Related: Next step for drones: Blood delivery? Opportunity, but regulatory hurdles
More FAA approvals to come
While scores of companies working in test programs have gotten FAA waivers to perform demonstration flights or to make deliveries over short distances, there has never been a drone company approved under the regulations designed to ensure safety at traditional charter airlines or smaller air-cargo haulers. It required Wing to create extensive manuals, training routines and a safety hierarchy — just as any air carrier must do.
Other drone companies applying for FAA approvals should be able to move more quickly now that the agency and Wing have worked through the issues of what rules should apply to drone operators and which ones should not, Burgess said.
The FAA’s air-carrier certification was needed because existing rules created strictly for drones don’t allow the kind of flights Wing envisioned, he said.
According to regulations issued in 2016, for example, drone operators are allowed to fly for hire, but have to do so within strict rules prohibiting flights outside of a ground operator’s eyesight. Similarly, the FAA has allowed automated flights over longer distances, but they are only demonstrations and companies can’t accept payment.
Related: FAA awards State Farm with the first national waiver for drones
Look, in the sky!
Wing’s drone, a hybrid between a helicopter and plane, is able to lift off vertically and fly horizontally at high speeds. It carries packages in its belly, lowering them to people’s yards with a tether while it hovers a safe distance overhead. Actual deliveries are expected to start within several months.
The company also recently won approval for drone deliveries from regulators in Australia, where it has conducted extensive testing.
The FAA’s approval demonstrates the rapid maturation of drone technology, Burgess said.
“It shows these devices can be value added in our communities,” Burgess said. “They can be a faster, cleaner, less expensive way to transport things while still adding to the safety of society.”
Related: Creating an effective drone program
For more coverage like this, explore our Drones & insurance Instant Insights package.
Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.