U.S. Lawmakers Push FAA for Timely BVLOS Rule Implementation

October 28, 2024 by Miriam McNabb 1 Comment

House Transportation Committee Urges DOT and FAA to Meet Deadlines for Expanding Drone Operations

Lawmakers have pressed the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to prioritize timely implementation of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, specifically focusing on enabling beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations. This regulation, referred to as Part 108, is critical for the U.S. drone industry’s growth and competitiveness: enabling profitable operations for a wide variety of applications.

The letter from the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure stresses the importance of regulatory certainty to foster innovation in the drone sector. The Committee argues that the current system of granting individual waivers for BVLOS operations lacks efficiency, limits scalability, and hampers the integration of drones into the National Airspace System (NAS).

The Importance of Part 108 in FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024

The FAA Reauthorization Act, signed into law on May 16, 2024, directs the FAA to develop a consistent regulatory framework for BVLOS drone operations, marking a crucial shift from the current approach. Under Section 930 of the Act, the FAA must issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) within four months and finalize the rule within twenty months. However, the NPRM deadline has passed, and the FAA has indicated a potential delay in issuing the proposed rule until January 2025.

https://dronelife.com/2024/10/28/u-s-lawmakers-push-faa-for-timely-bvlos-rule-implementation/

How much longer until public outcry nets a bigger budget for the FAA?

The '2024 drone scare' is to the FAA's budget what Waco was supposed to be for the ATF's appropriations and 9/11 was for surveillance.