The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) applauded the Federal Aviation Administration’s grant of an exemption to Zipline to conduct commercial drone operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
Chief Advocacy Officer Michael Robbins issued the following statement:
“Zipline has proven its ability to provide critical services to the public with the highest degree of safety. We commend the FAA for issuing this approval, which will address key needs in the health care and commercial delivery sectors.
The approval demonstrates the forward momentum of the U.S. commercial drone industry. As BVLOS exemptions become commonplace, it will unlock time-sensitive delivery, support health systems’ reach to patients, and address equity gaps. Americans nationwide will benefit from this new future of health care logistics.”
FAA’s grant of the exemption follows similar exemptions granted in recent weeks to Phoenix Air Unmanned, uAvionix, and UPS Flight Forward. In June, AUVSI submitted comments to the Federal Register in support for all four companies’ exemption requests. AUVSI’s supportive comments were cited in the FAA’s decision to grant Zipline’s exemption that, “the more that operations are looked at based on standardization and similarity of risk, the more people will benefit.”
