Amazon PrimeAir Drones (Photo : Reuters )
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finally loosened their grip and has allowed commercial drones to be tested in the United States. Amazon is the first company to be granted permission and more are expected to join the list soon.
After a long running discussion, the FAA has approved a list of drones to be experimented for research and development. Amazon has requested the permission to use drones for delivery almost a year ago but only small businesses and non-commercial single owners were the only ones allowed to do so.
The goal of the company is to make deliveries within the city in just 30 minutes, if they allow them to use drones. However, the permission granted by FAA restricts that they should always be in sight of the operator and can fly at a maximum speed of 100 mph.
"The announcement is huge news for Amazon," said Cooper Smith from BI Intelligence, during his interview with CNN Money. "FAA's permission to test it in U.S. is a good start to go with the program."
For now, the company has been testing them only in other countries such as India where they fly drones under their Amazon Air program. Google is also reportedly building a program that enables them to deliver goods by using this new technology.
FAA has many strict guidelines for Amazon. They shouldn't fly them within cities, use heights that wouldn't disrupt the airline services and the operator is not allowed to drop any items using his or her drone. It rules out the possibility of a delivery program for now.
Besides, the company should also submit monthly reports of the number of flights tested, operator's name and issues faced to the government agency, reports USA today.
