The United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Amazon permission to begin working towards its Air Prime drone delivery service on home soil.
The special permission allows the company to use unmanned aircraft (UAS) outdoors, for research and development and crew training
However, the company won’t be sending packages across U.S. cities any time soon due to the stringent conditions outlined in the agreement.
“Under the provisions of the certificate,” the FAA wrote (via The Verge), “all flight operations must be conducted at 400 feet or below during daylight hours in visual meteorological conditions.
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Both the height and line-of-site restrictions outlined in the award, plus the existing regulations, make it difficult for Amazon to engage in any trial schemes of note.
However, today’s news represents the first sign of progress for the company after continually meeting regulatory roadblocks.
Last month, Amazon’s hopes were dealt a serious blow by new rules governing commercial drone use that forebode cargo dropping, while the company had previously been denied permission to test the craft outdoors.
Until now Jeff Bezos’ company has been testing the scheme inside its labs and overseas where regulations relating to commercial drone use are more relaxed.
Read more: Parrot CEO talks drone restrictions
Amazon had threatened to move the entire operation oversees if it didn’t receive more assistance from the FAA and today’s announcement may be a sign the regulator’s stance is beginning to soften.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
