WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. government’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is reviewing a pair of regulations that could open the floodgates for commercial drone operations nationwide.
The Department of Transportation this month announced that Secretary Sean Duffy submitted the FAA’s highly anticipated proposals for Part 108 and Section 2209 to OIRA. The OIRA interagency review is the final step before the proposed rules—which have languished in regulatory limbo for years—are published in the Federal Register for public comment.
Part 108 would open up beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations without a waiver or exemption, while Section 2209 would allow sensitive facilities to apply for drone-specific flight restrictions. Lisa Ellman, executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA), views the regulations as “two sides of the same coin”—a package deal that could expand innovation without sacrificing security.
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“It’s very important that they move together, because they’re kind of incomplete without each other,” Ellman said during a summit the CDA held here earlier this month. “We want to enable the good while preventing the bad.”
Open the Floodgates
The Part 108 BVLOS rule is perhaps the most significant drone regulation since the FAA implemented Part 107 guidance for remote pilots in 2016.
At the CDA summit, Brandon Roberts, executive director of the agency’s office of rulemaking, described it as the “next evolutionary step forward” and predicted it would “dramatically” increase drone operations.
“We’re looking to actually scale all of these operations to a point that they’re commercially viable, that they’re profitable, so we’re not doing things like environmental reviews for each and every delivery location, for each takeoff and landing location,” Roberts said. “We want those things to be covered by a massive regulation that covers all operations domestically.”
To fly BVLOS, U.S. drone operators must coordinate with the FAA to lift restrictions using a Section 44807 exemption or other waiver. A handful of companies, for example, are permitted to fly BVLOS in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Without those permissions, drones must be directly monitored by the operator or visual observers on the ground—restricting the number of customers they can reach.
“Our customers regularly ask us, when are you coming to my neighborhood and when are you adding more things to the catalog, more merchants to the catalog, and expanding our options?” Margaret Nagle, head of policy, regulatory, and community affairs at Wing, said during the CDA summit.
Part 108 would cut through the red tape by creating a process for issuing special airworthiness certificates (SAC) for uncrewed aircraft up to 1,320 pounds. These aircraft would follow operational and design requirements based on consensus standards. Roberts said the final rule will likely include a grandfather clause or some other mechanism allowing operators to smoothly transition away from temporary waivers and exemptions.
The rule further proposes adding a BVLOS rating to Part 107 certificates, creating rules for commercial cargo delivery, and allowing drone operators to share data with third-party providers.
The industry has long clamored for Part 108 guidance since rulemaking began in 2022 but has been met with prolonged delays. The FAA failed to meet its September deadline for publishing a BVLOS notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), mandated by the agency’s 2024 reauthorization bill. The legislation calls for a final rule by 2026.
“This industry is evolving month to month,” said Liz Forro, policy director for CDA. “So in the time that it takes to just get a rule through the interagency process, the industry has made strides in that time.”
Operators argue that drones are generally safer than conventional aircraft and should be able to do more. Otherwise, they risk going out of business—and the U.S. risks losing investment to countries with more permissive rules.
“We feel the consequences of no action every day,” Ellman said.
Innovation and Security
As Roberts and others pointed out, though, a rule is no good if it is immediately shut down due to security concerns.
That’s where Section 2209 comes in. The provision would allow owners of sensitive fixed sites—like critical infrastructure or military installations—to ask the FAA for UAS-specific flight restrictions. In effect, trusted drones would be granted access while others would be locked out.
Congress’ 2016 FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act called on the agency to develop the rule. But 2209 was not high on its list of priorities, which included key regulations for hobbyist drones and remote pilot certification.
“We certainly considered that drones could be used for things like inspection, taking pictures for money, delivery, but we hadn’t actually tested any of those use cases in the business environment or in the regulatory environment before,” Roberts said.
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Nearly a decade later, drones have evolved from an activity to a revenue generator. The FAA’s thinking has evolved with them. Initially, the agency wanted broad drone restrictions over a wide swath of sensitive locations.
“Now, we want to allow known operators—who should be cleared into that area because they’re performing some sort of important function—in that 2209 UAS flight district,” Roberts said.
Roberts said FAA rulemakers are still working to determine which fixed sites will qualify for the 2209 designation. But commenters could help shape those criteria if the rule is published after OIRA review.
Broad Support
The CDA, which represents drone operators such as Zipline, Amazon’s Prime Air, and Alphabet’s Wing, and systems providers like Honeywell and Merlin Labs, is one of several industry groups that have urged the Donald Trump administration—and the previous Joe Biden administration—to advance the two rules. Their delivery to OIRA for interagency review has unsurprisingly drawn widespread acclaim.
“Outdated regulations and regulatory paralysis threaten America’s security and aviation leadership,” Ellman said in a statement. “But with the right framework in place, we can unlock the real benefits of safe, secure, and scalable drone operations for the American people, from medical deliveries and emergency response to infrastructure inspection and public safety.
Michael Robbins, CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), similarly said the rules are “essential to unlocking the next chapter of uncrewed aviation.” Other industry groups variously described it as “critical,” “important,” and a “big step.”
This is not the first time Part 108 and Section 2209 have reached OIRA review. Both were under evaluation toward the end of 2024. But OIRA failed to publish them before the previous administration left office, instead returning them to the FAA and restarting the process.
With new management in the White House, though, stakeholders are optimistic that the long-awaited regulations have a clearer path.
“I think there is a broad recognition that this industry represents an opportunity for the Trump administration, partly because there was very little progress that was made,” Ellman said. “They talk about getting rid of red tape, enabling innovation to succeed, enabling emerging technologies. This all really falls within what the president has spoken about.”
Ellman and CDA summit attendees also talked up the potential of UAS traffic management (UTM) systems—essentially, air traffic management for drones—as an additional safety net that could allow operations to flourish.
They further urged the FAA to “right size” air carriage rules, which they contended are designed for large, crewed aircraft rather than a “10-pound drone that doesn’t carry a person, and the pilot is sitting in an operations center versus being on the airplane,” Nagle said.
“We need our own part, and it needs to acknowledge the substantial differences in how our system operates,” she added.
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