The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has authorized two companies in the Dallas area to fly drones beyond the line of sight of the pilots operating them, opening the door for expanded delivery drone service across the region.
In most cases, a pilot must be able to see their drone at all times. But, the FAA can give special authorization to companies that use Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) technology. UTM services share flight data and planned routes between drone operators, with flights required to sit below 400 feet in altitude. Starting in August, Zipline International and Wing Aviation will be allowed to start flying their delivery drones in the Dallas area with the aid of UTM technology, after both companies spent the last year conducting thousands of test flights.
“This is the first time the FAA has recognized a third-party to safely manage drone-to-drone interactions,” said FAA NextGen Office program manager Praveen Raju. “As always, safety comes first, and we required exhaustive research and testing before giving the green light.”
Wing Aviation is owned by Google parent company Alphabet Inc., and previously partnered up on drone deliveries with companies such as DoorDash, FedEx and Walgreens in Virginia. Zipline has been experimenting with delivery drones for Walmart in the Dallas-Forth Worth (DFW) area since 2021, having recently added the service to the Walmart app for DFW customers in June 2024.
