With passage of FAA Reauthorization, the way forward for drone delivery becomes clearer

I have said that 2024 is the year of drone delivery. Today marks a significant milestone along this path as the President has signed into law the FAA Reauthorization Bill following overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress. At Wing, we are encouraged by what we see in the law’s final language and are excited to work with the FAA on implementation of the law’s provisions over the months to come.

Over a year ago, in March 2023, I was invited to testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s subcommittee on Aviation while Congress worked diligently on the legislation. I was honored to testify and shared Wing’s experience with and vision for the future of UAS integration, recognizing the importance of the foundations that industry and the FAA have built thus far, and the benefits of performance-based approvals and a cooperative airspace. 

While the consumer demand and commercial interest in drone delivery are significant, I noted in my testimony that even with diligent effort by the regulator, the question of what “test we had to pass” in order to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary for our operations and innovations has not always had an obvious answer. The FAA Reauthorization attempts to fix some of these issues and I am encouraged to see a policy framework now set by Congress in law to allow a new predictable and pragmatic framework for regulating uncrewed aviation. I am eager to see this become a reality as the provisions of today’s newly signed law are successfully implemented. 

We’ve been operating in the U.S. since 2019 delivering thousands of goods directly to customers' homes. We look forward to bringing drone delivery to more communities across the U.S. throughout the rest of 2024 and into the years to come as we work with the FAA to implement the FAA Reauthorization law’s key provisions that enable even more sustainable, scaled operations.