(USA Today) – Amazon says it is still committed to delivering products by drone despite new federal rules that it considers an obstacle to commercial use of unmanned aircraft.
Paul Misener, Amazon vice president for global policy, said the FAA’s proposed new rules “wouldn’t allow Prime Air to operate in the United States.” Prime Air is the name of Amazon’s developmental program for drone delivery.
Amazon’s Misner called for rules that would address Amazon’s plan for using drones to deliver packages.
“The FAA needs to begin and expeditiously complete the formal process to address the needs of our business, and ultimately our customers,” he said. “We are committed to realizing our vision for Prime Air and are prepared to deploy where we have the regulatory support we need.”
The FAA on Sunday released draft rules for flying small unmaned aircraft, or drones. While much of the drone industry welcomed the FAA rules, which still need to be passed, companies looking to use drones commercially will face several obstacles. Under the proposed regulations, drones cannot fly over people not involved in the drone operations, and the drones must be flown by an observer on the ground who can maintain visual contact with the aircraft.