On Monday, the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTFT) announced a partnership with Wing, the drone delivery arm of Google parent Alphabet, and Apian, the developer of an application programming interface (API) for medical logistics founded by former NHS doctors, to move blood between two hospitals in less than two minutes. The U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has approved an airspace corridor between the hospitals and will regulate the trial.

The six-month program, expected to begin in the fall, will serve Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital in central London. According to GSTFT, moving samples between the sites can take more than half an hour by van or bike courier. But per a study in the British Journal of Haematology, transporting blood by drone is just as safe as doing so by ground vehicle.

“The drone pilot combines two of our key priorities—providing the best possible patient care and improving sustainability,” said professor Ian Abbs, CEO of GSTFT.

Howard Dawber, the deputy mayor of London for business and growth, also praised the service.

Wing and Apian have been delivering surgical tools and other medical supplies in Dublin since July. In addition to those Ireland services, Apian has delivered chemotherapy treatment to cancer patients for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and is working with Zipline to expand a prior trial for the Northumbria Trust.

In London, Wing drones will transport blood samples taken from patients awaiting surgery who are at risk of complications due to bleeding disorders. The aircraft are expected to slash delivery times, allowing NHS technicians to more quickly analyze the sample and determine if the procedure is safe.

The fully electric aircraft—which have completed more than 400,000 deliveries worldwide to date—also figure to reduce emissions while alleviating some ground traffic.

“Drones can increase the responsiveness and resilience of healthcare logistics, allowing clinicians to be more productive and patients to get the care they need sooner,” said Dr. Hammad Jeilani, co-founder of Apian.

Wing drones will transfer samples on demand, flying between the two hospital rooftops at over 60 mph and 200 feet in the air—high enough, Wing says, that their buzzing will blend into the city’s soundscape. The aircraft can tolerate moderate rain and wind. Per Apian, they will carry about 2.2 pounds, so it appears the service will not use Wing’s newer model, which can carry up to 5 pounds.

The drones are largely automated and will follow predetermined routes overseen by a remote pilot, similar to Wing’s U.S. service. Flights will take place during daytime hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday, with no more than 10 trips per day.

The drones are equipped with low-resolution cameras, but according to Wing, no live feed is available, even for its own pilots.

According to Apian, the trial could expand to fly a wider range of “pathology items, medicines and supplies.” In addition to Guy’s and St Thomas’, GSTFT operates three other main hospitals, which could be candidates for an expansion.

“This is one of the many reasons that we are working with companies through our sandbox trials programme, to enable the test and development of pioneering new aviation technology in the U.K.,” said Sophie O’Sullivan, director of the CAA’s Future of Flight program.

Drone delivery is being bolstered by U.K. leaders at the highest levels. The country’s Department for Transport, for example, in March released its Future of Flight Action Plan, a blueprint to make drone deliveries routine by 2027.

Part of that plan is the CAA’s Future Flight Challenge, a nearly $400 million initiative that funds a variety of drone delivery projects. The CAA has already authorized several trials under the program to study drones for inspections, emergency services, and policing. In August, the regulator selected six participants, including Amazon’s Prime Air, for an upcoming round of trials.

The U.K. government has also poured over $9 million into Project CAELUS, which uses drones to deliver medical supplies in Scotland, while the Royal Mail is exploring parcel delivery by drone.

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The FCC last week approved Part 88, which, for the first time, permits certain drone operations within a dedicated 5 GHz spectrum for wireless communications. Most drones fly on unprotected wireless frequencies—the same ones shared by your Wi-Fi router—which raises the risk of interference, such as through jamming.

“Right now, drone operators largely rely on unlicensed airwaves to communicate with and control these uncrewed aircraft systems,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement. “But the use of unlicensed spectrum leaves these aircraft more vulnerable to interference that could disrupt operations.”

In the U.K. in 2019, for example, a 200-pound drone lost its datalink connection, plummeted 8,000 feet, and crashed about a mile away from a festival with a crowd of 35,000.

As more drones enter the airspace, the potential for such dangers rises. By the FCC’s estimate, the number of drones operating in the U.S. is expected to triple to 6.5 million this decade, and the drone industry will become a multibillion-dollar business.

“These systems support billions in economic activity and can help power services that improve lives,” said Rosenworcel. “Drones are a game-changer for inspecting and maintaining critical infrastructure like cell towers or electric transmission lines. They can access hard-to-reach locations faster and more safely than crews on the ground. First responders increasingly rely on these aircraft to help with rescue operations.

“On top of this, drones have proven invaluable for farmers, providing new ways to monitor field conditions and collect data about crops.”

All of these services, however, are vulnerable to outside actors and forces that could disrupt unprotected frequencies. The FCC rule does not grant all drones access to the dedicated spectrum, but it does lay the groundwork for more UAS to tap in eventually.

Why It Matters

Drone use in the U.S. has grown substantially in recent years—as has the risk for interference in operations.

“We are already starting to live in the future we’ve long imagined: uncrewed aircraft systems are fighting wildfires, supporting news gathering, delivering packages, and supporting national security,” said Rosenworcel.

The aviation industry and regulatory bodies have already developed standards for drone spectrum use around which many companies are designing their technology. But managing those radio frequencies is challenging.

“[The spectrum is] a limited resource in high demand,” said Christian Ramsey, chief commercial officer of UAS equipment provider uAvionix, in a blog post. “Like most things, it is limited because it is in high demand. If too many things are broadcasting and receiving on similar frequencies without a well thought out plan, well—things just don’t work very well, because every message is garbled and is getting stomped on by all of the traffic out there.”

The FCC began tackling the dilemma in 2021 with the establishment of a wireless experimentation zone in Raleigh, North Carolina, dedicated specifically to exploring communications for drones.

“The insights gained from this effort have shaped and strengthened our new rules,” said Rosenworcel. “This includes the innovative approach we take here with the establishment of dynamic frequency management systems [DFMS] that will help this spectrum be used safely and efficiently by a wide array of operators.”

The FCC rulemaking process began shortly after in 2022. The following year, President Joe Biden directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to create and execute a National Spectrum Strategy Implementation Plan, which it published in November. “Pillar One” of that plan—which the FCC implemented last week—calls for the 5030-5091 MHz spectrum band to be set aside for control-and-non-payload communications (CNPC) UAS datalinks.

What It Means

By the FCC’s definition, CNPC covers “any transmission that is sent between the UA [uncrewed aircraft] component and the UAS ground station of the UAS, and that supports the safety or regularity of the UA’s flight.” The definition does not include “payload” communications like high-bandwidth video, which are not covered under the rule—at least, not yet.

“Although this regulatory framework covers only a certain type of UAS operations, it is an important step in our ongoing efforts to encourage spectrum-enabled innovation and technological progress for the benefit of all Americans,” said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, who offered his full support for the initiative.

The rule also excludes networked operations, which per the commission “rely on network infrastructure to go beyond radio line of sight of the operator.” Ground infrastructure, however, could tap into the 5030-5091 MHz band.

“Our actions today should enable UAS to be an effective tool in disaster recovery efforts,” said Starks. “Although we establish a regulatory framework for UAS operating in radio line of sight of an operator, we also permit the use of some ground infrastructure deployment, such as a string of ground stations deployed over a particular and frequently used flight path.”

Starks gave the example of electric utility companies, which could deploy drones linked to ground stations to inspect property damage after a storm, monitor system health during normal operations, or address service disruptions.

“We still need to address a number of remaining issues, including spectrum for networked UAS operations in the 5030-5091 MHz band to fully realize the promise and public interest benefits of UAS,” Starks said.

To access the spectrum, drone operators will use the automated DFMS Rosenworcel alluded to. These systems manage spectrum availability and ensure safe use of the frequency.

The DFMS will assign the operator a temporary frequency within a particular geographic area and time frame, specified by their UAS flight plan. Within that space and time, they would have exclusive and protected use of the band in controlled airspace and “other safety-critical circumstances,” the FCC says.

“By making additional spectrum available through such a framework, we ensure that spectrum is used efficiently and effectively while meeting the needs of UAS operations to be robust, reliable, and safe,” said Starks. “That’s real progress.”

The DFMS framework is still being phased in. In the interim, the rule allows operators to request spectrum permissions from the FAA. Once approved, they must complete an online registration form for the FCC. The commission will notify the public when the rule takes effect and that process becomes available.

Though the protected UAS frequencies will not eliminate interference entirely, Part 88 essentially adds an enforcement mechanism.

“Does designating ‘protected spectrum’ make any type of interference like jamming impossible? Not at all,” said Ramsey, “but it makes the consequences of doing so much higher. With the publishing of Part 88, the 5030-5091 MHz band is aviation-protected spectrum, and we have the rules and the standards by which we can move forward.”

But the work is not done. Several companies, including uAvionix, Aura Network Systems, Boeing and subsidiary Wisk Aero, Lockheed Martin, and Qualcomm, provided feedback on the new rule, pushing back against certain provisions. The FCC rejected many of these suggestions but left the door open for the protected frequencies to be greatly expanded. It will study early drone spectrum operations alongside the NTIA and FAA to identify areas of improvement.

“Enabling a flexible licensing framework for UAS operations with exclusive spectrum access and nationwide network coverage will require an all-hands-on-deck approach from all stakeholders, involving standard developments, spectrum policy, intergovernmental coordination, and full integration of these operations into the nation’s airspace,” said Starks.

Added Rosenworcel: “This is a meaningful step forward to help support the innovative potential of drone technologies and help build a digital future that works for everyone. What comes next is exciting—so let’s get to it.”

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The agency last week said that between October 2022 and June 2024, it levied $341,413 in civil penalties against 27 operators who violated federal drone regulations, with the largest monetary fines numbering in the tens of thousands.

Under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which President Joe Biden signed into law in March, drone pilots who fly unsafely or without authorization face penalties up to $75,000 per violation. The agency can also revoke or suspend pilot permissions.

“Violating the drone regulations puts lives at risk in the air and on the ground,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. “Flying a small drone means you are flying an aircraft, and unsafe behavior will cost you.”

The FAA requires most drone pilots to own a valid Part 107 remote pilot certificate with a few exceptions, mainly for recreational users who are flying for fun or personal enjoyment. Some operational restrictions can be lifted via waiver, but pilots by and large must stick to the rules for recreational or certificated operators. People who fly for commercial or government customers, for example, would fall under the latter category.

According to the FAA, as of August, there are more than 785,000 registered drones in the U.S. Of those, about half are recreational and half are commercial models. There are also more than 405,000 certified Part 107 remote pilots. Those figures have risen sharply in recent years, forcing the FAA to implement provisions such as the remote identification rule, which assigns all registered drones a digital license plate.

Still, a few violators have slipped through the cracks.

According to the FAA, one person was fined $32,700 for interfering with a police operation in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

“The drone operator flew so close to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office helicopter that the pilot had to stop the search for a burglary suspect to prevent a midair collision,” the agency said.

The pilot did not have Part 107 permissions, operated at night without anti-collision lights, and flew above 400 feet—the altitude limit for drones in uncontrolled airspace, which can only be lifted with a waiver.

Several of the incidents occurred during or around major sporting events.

During a 2022 Formula 1 auto racing event in Miami, for example, an uncertificated pilot operated an unregistered drone in Class D airspace, ignored a temporary flight restriction (TFR), and flew beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS), meaning they could not physically see the drone. BVLOS flights are unauthorized without an exemption from the FAA.

American lawmakers and professional sports leagues, such as the NFL, have reported increasing numbers of drone-related incidents at venues during both regular-season and playoff games. To mitigate this, the FAA prohibits drones that fly at or below 3,000 feet agl within 3 nm of any stadium that seats 30,000 or more, including one hour before and after games, which is the temporary flight restriction created for stadiums and other large venues following 9/11.

But the NFL, for example, had nearly twice as many incursions during the 2022 season as it did the season prior.

One man—who flew an unauthorized drone over Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium), home to the Cincinnati Bengals, during a January 2022 playoff game between the Bengals and Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders—was hit with $7,760 in FAA penalties. The pilot, who did not have Part 107 permissions, flew over the crowd at night and BVLOS within a TFR.

Two other operators were fined $16,000 and $4,000 for flying within a TFR during 2022’s Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The pilots flew in Class B airspace without authorization, and neither possessed a remote pilot certificate. The FAA implemented a similar TFR around Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII this past February.

As more drones enter U.S. airspace, the odds of an accident or collision rise, as does the chance of misuse. The FAA encourages bystanders to report unsafe or unauthorized drone flights to their local Flight Standards District Office.

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The company last week told Axios it is shuttering 18 Walmart delivery hubs in those cities to focus on operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which the retailer in January announced would expand to reach 1.8 million people.

According to the report, the decision will cost the jobs of 70 employees, or about 17 percent of DroneUp’s headcount.

“Layoffs are an unfortunate part of a business that is literally defining its own industry,” a DroneUp spokesperson told FLYING. “Like so many innovators before us, the decision to automate often leads to similar circumstances, but we acknowledge that this is a difficult time, especially for those with whom we’ve parted ways.”

The spokesperson declined to verify the number of sites that will close or how many employees will be affected.

After successfully trialing a drone delivery service near Walmart’s headquarters in Arkansas, DroneUp and the retailer expanded it to six states—Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia—and an estimated 4 million people.

Per Axios, cutting Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Tampa will leave the partners with 15 hubs, most of which are in Dallas-Fort Worth. The retailer is also working with drone delivery providers Zipline and Wing, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, in that region.

“We are excited about the momentum and positive customer response we’ve experienced around drone delivery,” a Walmart spokesperson told FLYING. “This service will continue to evolve as we learn more about customer preferences and drone capabilities. Our drone delivery program is still a pilot, and by focusing our efforts in Dallas-Fort Worth, we can learn more about the potential to scale this innovative delivery option for Walmart’s customers.”

According to DroneUp CEO Tom Walker, it costs the firm about $30 to deliver a package, making its service unfeasible in its current form. To address that issue, the company is honing in on Dallas-Fort Worth as a testing ground for its autonomous drone Ecosystem, unveiled in March.

The Ecosystem comprises a suite of ground, air, and software products wrapped into a single platform, including software operating systems, automated ground infrastructure, and two next-generation drones.

The drones, which are designed to complete deliveries autonomously in as little as 30 minutes, fly between automated outdoor lockers and customers’ homes while producing about as much noise as a refrigerator at cruising altitude. Each is equipped with a special claw-like grabber that enables airdrops from as high as 120 feet.

Under this framework, DroneUp operators function like air traffic controllers, each assigned to monitor a swath of airspace. Retail associates, meanwhile, need only pack and load orders—the automated lockers and drones handle the rest.

“DroneUp remains committed to a strategy that supports our commercial partners and their customers,” a company spokesperson told FLYING. “The lessons we have learned in the last several years have informed a strategy to reshape the last mile of delivery with DroneUp’s Ecosystem platform that is economically feasible for sellers and scalable for buyers.”

The Ecosystem is designed to extend the range of the company’s operations, which were bolstered in January when the FAA approved it to fly its drones beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator. DroneUp is one of a handful of firms with BVLOS permissions, which can be obtained only via FAA waiver or exemption.

Walmart, meanwhile, recently introduced a drone delivery integration on its digital app, allowing customers to order directly from their phone or computer. The retailer began rolling out the offering in June and will notify customers when they are eligible for delivery through the app. Aiding that initiative is partner Wing, which introduced a suite of application programming interfaces (APIs) that Walmart can use to add drone delivery directly to its e-commerce platform.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, Walmart and its partners’ operations got a lift when the FAA removed BVLOS restrictions for Zipline and Wing. The historic move, announced in July, allows the companies to manage their own airspace with FAA oversight and removes a requirement to station human observers along delivery routes.

With fewer human capital needs and greater freedom to fly BVLOS, the firms should be able to cut costs while expanding their services to more customers. The authorization may have played a role in DroneUp’s decision to focus on the region.

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California-based A2Z Drone Delivery on Monday launched a suite of autonomous drone docks—portable or permanent sites where drones can charge and pick up or drop off packages, with no human interaction. Accompanying the firm’s new AirDock offering, which comes in four configurations, is a companion drone specially designed to integrate with the system.

Interestingly, though, customers may choose to directly purchase or lease the technology from A2Z, or they can opt for a drone-network-as-a-service (DNaaS)—essentially, a subscription model tied to a temporary contract.

“While the AirDocks are designed to safely and more easily scale drone operations in a sharable fashion, we also saw an opportunity to lower that financial barrier to entry even further for customers,” Aaron Zhang, cofounder and CEO of A2Z, told FLYING. “Our new drone-network-as-a-service (DNaaS) model is a pathway for customers to get off the ground quickly, without having to make the full upfront capital investment in a network of drone docks and UAVs.”

With the AirDock, drones can fly from dock to dock to autonomously pick up, deliver, or recharge in as little as 30 minutes. The weatherproof modules, designed for both cargo and patrol flights, are elevated to keep sharp propellers away from people.

Customers can deploy a single system or arrange multiple docks in a network, using automated charging to greatly extend the range of their operations. According to A2Z, the technology has no moving parts, allowing it to be deployed at a “fraction of the cost” of more complex systems.

“We’ve seen plenty of drone-in-a-box users struggle with burdensome maintenance on overly complex hardware, so we designed our AirDocks to be ‘solid-state’ with no moving parts to worry about,” said Zhang.

The company will sell AirDocks to drone service providers, enterprise-level operators, and government agencies, who can manage deliveries remotely through a client web-based user interface. Customers can track delivery status, request a pickup, view patrol reports, schedule patrol missions, and view live video feeds.

The AirDock will come in four configurations, each designed to meet a different operational need.

The Portable module can be carried by hand or fold to fit within the trunk of a van or checked airline luggage. The “most cost-effective offering” in the AirDock suite, it can be deployed in minutes and manage multiple drones.

The more rugged Shelter module is designed to house a single drone for extended periods of time, such as overnight or between missions, and can withstand extreme weather conditions. A2Z describes it as a “deploy and forget” option for remote operations where the drone cannot be recovered at the end of the day.

For customers operating many drones or sharing airspace with other providers, the company offers the AirDock Dual and Quad, which can dock and charge two and four drones respectively. These permanent structures are elevated about 20 feet off the ground and use the same foundation and power supply as standard streetlamps. With the Dual or Quad module, multiple customers could share infrastructure in the same high-traffic area.

“A countywide network of AirDocks can simultaneously support first responder drones providing rapid eyes on traffic accidents, while also patrolling protected reservoir waters, and collecting water data samples,” Zhang told FLYING. “At the same time, local drone service providers may leverage the same AirDock network for food delivery.”

The companion drone for the system, the AirDock Edition Longtail, is a version of the company’s commercial drone platform, unveiled last August, that has been modified to integrate with the automatic charging system. The model features a hexacopter airframe that supports an 11-pound payload, cruising at about 650 feet. It can fly in moderate rain or even snow.

The AirDock Edition Longtail can hop between docks to recharge itself and extend missions indefinitely. Its onboard computer includes A2Z’s new autonomous precision landing capability, while a heating system and cell balancing system help to maintain its batteries.

Using ground control station software, operators can preplan drone routes between docks, repeating missions with the touch of a button. Pilots can take over manually at any time.

The drone features a customizable cargo bay that can be fitted for a range of missions including last mile delivery, data collection, infrastructure inspection, and search and rescue. Two models are available at launch. The Longtail Cargo has a range of about 11 nm and comes integrated with A2Z’s winch system, which lowers packages from altitude on a tether. The Longtail Patrol, meanwhile, has a range of 19 nm and includes a thermal camera, LED spotlight, and megaphone.

A2Z got its start manufacturing commercial drone delivery hardware. But with the launch of the AirDock system, the company hopes to offer a drone-network-as-a-service (DNaaS) comprising not just the aircraft but the ecosystem around them.

Enterprise or government agency customers can choose to purchase or lease the technology directly from A2Z or a leasing partner, or they can opt for the DNaaS model, under which A2Z owns and maintains the docks and drones.

Under the latter option, the customer pays a monthly service fee and is responsible for operations. Following a vetting and onboarding process, A2Z will ship the drones and docks, which can be customized with customer branding, and assist with setup. After that, the company would remain on standby to provide operational, technical, and regulatory support.

Contract terms begin at six months but can be extended, with an early termination fee of half of the remaining contract length.

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The CAA on Thursday announced it selected six projects that will test the self-flying aircraft’s use for delivery to consumers, infrastructure inspection, emergency services, and more. Prime Air, the drone delivery arm of Amazon flying in Texas, was one of the selections.

The trials will feature flights beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the drone operator, relying instead on detect and avoid and other technologies to navigate and avoid obstacles. Further permission will be needed before flights can begin, the CAA said.

The goal of the campaign is to collect safety data to better understand how the drones keep themselves detectable to operators and out of the path of other aircraft.

In March, the CAA published a blueprint laying out how drones could fly routinely in the next five years. The agency also facilitated six drone trials beginning in October of last year and oversaw a drone delivery project off the coast of Scotland conducted by the Royal Mail.

“These innovative trials mark a significant step forward in integrating drones safely into U.K. airspace,” said Sophie O’Sullivan, director of Future of Flight at the CAA. “By supporting projects ranging from consumer deliveries to critical infrastructure inspections, we are gathering essential data to shape future policies and regulations.”

Companies and organizations were invited to bid on their participation in what the CAA is calling innovation sandboxes. These controlled spaces—part of a collaboration with U.K. Research and Innovation—allow participants to test and mature their technology while helping the agency develop drone regulations.

Amazon Prime Air, which announced its ambition to expand to the U.K. last year, is one of the six projects in this round of trials. Another company, Airspection, will test drone inspections of offshore wind farms.

The rest of the participants are organizations or U.K. government agencies.

The National Police Air Service, for example, is looking to add drones to its fleet and will spend six months flying the aircraft BVLOS. NATS Services, meanwhile, will work with several partners to conduct BVLOS inspections over the North Sea.

Another participant, Project SATE (Sustainable Aviation Test Environment), aims to develop a drone hub-and-spoke route network in the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland. The final project, called LifeLine, will deliver critical medical supplies such as defibrillators and EpiPens and provide live camera feeds to first responders.

“These have the potential to transform how we deliver goods and provide services, particularly in less well-connected regions,” said Simon Masters, deputy director of U.K. Innovation and Research’s Future Flight Challenge. “These new sandbox projects are a great step towards realizing these ambitions.”

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Israeli company Flytrex on Friday announced the milestone, which it believes makes it the largest commercial provider of food drone delivery in the U.S. The firm said 70 percent of the households in its delivery areas—which comprise a handful of towns in North Carolina and Texas—have used the service to deliver items such as sandwiches, hot wings, and even ice cream.

“We are focused on bringing our customers the best experience—and that includes delivery that is convenient for their schedules and preferences,” said Scott Scherer, chief information officer of Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems.

Zipline leads the commercial drone industry in deliveries with more than 1 million as of August, but the company primarily delivers medical items such as blood samples and vaccines. Similarly, Wing, the drone delivery arm of Google parent Alphabet, has completed 350,000 deliveries as of January, flying a combination of food and convenience items with partners such as DoorDash and Walmart. But it’s unclear what proportion of those are in the U.S., as the company also has a robust presence in Australia.

Flytrex, by contrast, is focused almost exclusively on food delivery in the U.S. The company’s self-flying drones, which are monitored by FAA-certified operators, can carry up to 5.5 pounds of cargo and fly at around 32 mph, covering a range of 5 miles round trip.

Average delivery time is less than five minutes, with the fastest order being completed in just two minutes. A delivery box is fastened to the drone and lowered to the ground with a tether, protecting delicate items such as eggs. Orders are delivered either to the customer’s house or a public pickup spot.

The FAA in 2021 approved Flytrex’s request to fly over people and deliver to customers’ backyards in North Carolina, allowing it to begin flying commercially. Later that year, around the same time Flytrex launched in Texas, the agency expanded the range of the company’s service to 1 nm, then doubled it in 2022. According to the firm, the second expansion allowed it to reach nearly 100,000 customers.

Last year, Flytrex operating partner Causey Aviation Unmanned became just the fifth company—joining Zipline, Wing, Amazon Prime Air, and UPS Flight Forward—to earn FAA Part 135 permissions for drone delivery, which according to the regulator “is the only path for small drones to carry the property of another for compensation beyond visual line of sight.”

The key phrase there is beyond visual line of sight (or BVLOS as it is known in drone industry parlance), which denotes flights beyond the pilot’s field of view. The FAA has yet to finalize regulations on BVLOS operations, which has forced drone delivery providers to obtain waivers to add the permissions.

These exemptions typically expire after a couple of years. However, a Part 135 holder can have BVLOS permissions added to its certificate, as Zipline and Wing have done, rather than requesting temporary relief.

“Flytrex continuously innovates to overcome delivery challenges, ensuring our drones can handle anything from large and heavy family meals to bad weather and oddly shaped packages,” said Yariv Bash, CEO and cofounder of Flytrex.

According to Flytrex, french fries, chicken nuggets, turkey sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, and burrito bowls have been the company’s most popular restaurant orders, while bananas, limes, and ice cream reign supreme at grocery stores. About 36 percent of all grocery orders included some kind of fresh produce.

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The regulator on Tuesday authorized commercial drone flights without visual observers (VOs) in Dallas-area airspace for two companies: Zipline and Wing, the drone delivery subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet. The firms will manage the airspace themselves with FAA oversight.

“The industry is providing us with a lot of detailed documentation, and we’re providing a lot of oversight,” said Jarrett Larrow, regulatory and policy lead at the FAA’s Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office. “These public-private partnerships are key to safely integrating drones into our National Airspace System.”

Both Zipline and Wing have robust drone delivery services in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in partnership with Walmart. But limiting the firms is a pesky regulation called the beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) rule, which limits drone operations to within the drone operator’s field of view of the operator.

The FAA is working to release the Normalizing UAS BVLOS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would authorize drone operators to fly aircraft where they cannot physically see them. It expects to finalize the measure this year.

But in lieu of a firm rule, the regulator awards BVLOS permissions on a case-by-case basis through waivers. Typically, these exemptions require the companies to maintain VOs along delivery routes to monitor their drones. However, a handful of companies have been able to replace VOs with proprietary or third-party detect and avoid systems or UAS traffic management (UTM) software.

Without these permissions, drone delivery companies are greatly limited in the scope of their operations, which, in order to keep eyes on the aircraft at all times, are often constricted to small areas.

The new FAA authorization seeks to change that, at least in the Dallas area.

Beginning in August, Zipline and Wing will be allowed to deliver packages using UTM technology to keep their drones from colliding. In short, airspace would be managed by private companies with FAA oversight.

“This is the first time the FAA has recognized a third-party to safely manage drone-to-drone interactions,” said Praveen Raju, a program manager in the FAA’s NextGen Office. “As always, safety comes first, and we required exhaustive research and testing before giving the green light.”

Zipline and Wing will use UTM to share flight data and routes with other airspace users, with all flights occurring below 400 feet agl and far away from crewed aircraft. Consensus standards developed by the drone industry and accepted by the FAA describe how the technology can accommodate multiple layers of drone operations, according to the regulator.

The agency also said that Zipline and Wing since 2023 have safely conducted thousands of live drone test flights in shared Dallas-area airspace. Now, commercial flights are expected to provide the FAA with valuable information that could allow it to expand BVLOS operations without special exemptions nationwide.

The regulator on Tuesday said companies and organizations worldwide have shown interest in the project and how they can install their own UTM systems in the U.S.

“UTM is a critical piece for safe, routine, scalable BVLOS operations and to ensure everyone has equitable access to the airspace,” Larrow said. “If service providers and operators are successful in cooperatively sharing the airspace using UTM, it will be a repeatable process nationwide.”

Zipline and Wing were among the first drone delivery firms to obtain Part 135 operator permissions from the FAA and have worked closely with the regulator for years. Should the agency continue to look to the companies to pilot BVLOS operations, it may add permissions to their service areas in other states such as Arkansas, Utah, and Virginia.

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Wing, the drone delivery venture of Google parent Alphabet, on Wednesday announced it is expanding to Melbourne and the Australian state of Victoria along with its food delivery partner. More than 250,000 residents can now order food, drinks, and household items by drone, straight to their backyard, directly through the DoorDash app.

Melbourne is not the first market Wing and DoorDash have targeted, and it is unlikely to be the last. The partners began offering the service in the Brisbane suburb of Logan in 2022 and in March expanded to Christiansburg, Virginia, in partnership with Wendy’s.

Wing’s delivery area in Melbourne, however, is its largest yet in Australia, covering 26 suburbs in the east of the city. The larger size was enabled via regulatory approvals from the country’s leadership.

The service will also feature the company’s highest pilot-to-aircraft ratio to date, with a single pilot assigned to monitor up to 50 drones at a time, three times more than previously permitted. The increase was approved, Wing said, because the company has been able to demonstrate the safety of its service over five years of operation in the country.

The drones cruise at roughly 65 mph (56 knots) at an altitude of about 200 feet, and all flights are preplanned by an automated system. They can continue flying in light rain or even snow. The DoorDash app will provide customers with a countdown clock to collect their delivery, which, as FLYING saw firsthand, is accurate down to the second.

Partnering with DoorDash is part of Wing’s strategy of direct integration. The company uses tools such as automation and autonomous drone loaders to streamline the order and delivery process on the merchant’s end, while the customer gains easy access to the service through one of the world’s largest food delivery platforms. DoorDash, for its part, has also not been shy about its use of autonomy.

Separately, Wing announced an expansion of its service in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area of Texas with partner Walmart. The companies added two new Walmart locations to their network, expanding it to six stores covering more than a dozen neighborhoods.

The drone delivery provider is also looking to get into healthcare through a collaboration with the U.K.’s Apian. The firms recently partnered with a collection of Irish companies to launch a healthcare drone delivery trial, including 100 flights per week of medical supplies and devices to Irish hospitals.

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In a letter to the FAA penned by John Nichols, the mayor of College Station, Texas—one of two locations where Prime Air began flying in 2022—on behalf of the city council he urged the regulator to deny a request that would more than double the service’s range. The mayor cited noise concerns from residents as the chief factor guiding the city’s position.

College Station has become a critical hub for Prime Air, which has struggled to get its drone delivery service off the ground. The city was intended to be one of two key launch markets in addition to Lockeford, California, but the latter service was shuttered in April after a less-than-stellar performance in a little more than its first year.

That leaves College Station as the sole market for Prime Air operations, and Amazon recently bolstered the service by adding on-demand delivery of prescription medications for the flu, asthma, pneumonia, and more. The e-commerce giant is also looking to bring drones to the Phoenix metro area in Arizona and has teased an international expansion to the U.K. and Italy.

Last year, Prime Air unveiled its MK30 drone, which is rangier, quieter, and more durable than its current MK27-2. To integrate the new model into its Texas fleet, the company submitted a draft supplemental environmental assessment to the FAA summarizing the MK30’s potential impacts on College Station residents.

Since the new model can fly in light rain and more extreme temperatures than the MK27-2, Amazon proposes operations 365 days per year, an increase from 260. Flights per day would increase from 200 to about 470 and would take place between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. CT, removing an FAA restriction limiting flights to daytime hours.

Under the proposal, the company’s operating area would expand from 43.7 to 174 square miles. The expansion to 43.7 square miles happened earlier this year, when the FAA granted Amazon approval to fly its drones where its pilots cannot physically see them. Comparable waivers have been handed out to competitors such as Zipline, Alphabet’s Wing, and UPS’s Flight Forward, similarly allowing those companies to expand their service areas through remote operations.

If approved, the lighter restrictions would allow Prime Air to fly more than 170,000 operations per year in College Station with the MK30, compared to 52,000 with its current model.

Nichols said that the city is excited to be one of the few in the U.S. to host a drone delivery service. But that came with a caveat.

“While the city is supportive of Amazon Prime Air’s efforts, we do not support their request in its entirety,” Nichols wrote. “Since locating in College Station, residents in neighborhoods adjacent to Amazon Prime Air’s facility have expressed concern to the city council regarding drone noise levels, particularly during takeoff and landing, as well as in some delivery operations.”

According to Nichols, residents “have continued” to voice concerns regarding Prime Air’s planned expansion, worrying that the noise will only worsen. The mayor added that the expanded service area could extend beyond the city’s commercial zoning district, which is intended to limit commercial spillover into residential neighborhoods.

“Due to the level of concern from residents, the city would ask to delay the increase in service levels relating to the number of deliveries, as well as the expanded operation days and hours, until additional noise mitigation efforts are implemented by Amazon Prime Air,” Nichols wrote.

Nichols did offer support, however, for the introduction of the MK30, which is expected to be 40 percent quieter than its predecessor. It is unclear whether the new drone would represent sufficient “noise mitigation efforts” in the city council’s eyes, though Nichols said it would have a “positive effect” on residents’ displeasure.

The comment period for the environmental assessment closed on Friday, and the city and Prime Air will now have to wait for the FAA’s decision. Amazon is also awaiting comments and a final decision on a draft environmental assessment for its planned Arizona service.

Should the proposed expansion be rejected, it would represent yet another blow for Prime Air, which so far has not delivered on former CEO Jeff Bezos’ prognostications more than a decade ago.

In that time, competitors such as Zipline and Wing have risen to the top of the young industry—each of those firms has completed multiple hundred thousands of drone deliveries, including outside the U.S.

Prime Air’s future prospects may be bolstered by the MK30, which promises to address some of the company’s problems: namely range, excessive noise, and limitations on deliveries in inclement weather.

Amazon is not the only drone delivery provider contending with unhappy customers. Earlier this month, a Florida man was arrested for shooting down a Walmart delivery drone he said was flying over his house.

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