The UK's aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has selected six projects, including one by e-commerce giant Amazon, to test the use of drones for
deliveries, infrastructure inspections, and emergency services, the CAA announced on Thursday.
Earlier this year, the CAA expressed its intention to expand the use of drones for such purposes, aiming to permit more drone flights under specific conditions.
Currently, drone operators in Britain are only allowed to fly beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) under strict trial conditions. However, the newly announced trials will enable selected projects to operate drones beyond the operator’s visual range using advanced technologies for navigation, control, and aircraft detection.
Among the selected projects are Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service, Airspection’s offshore windfarm inspection initiative, and Project Lifeline, which focuses on delivering medical supplies.
The CAA stated that these trials will contribute to its ongoing efforts to develop policies and regulations that will allow drone flights to be "fully integrated" with other airspace users.
“These innovative trials represent a major step forward in safely integrating drones into UK airspace,” said CAA Director Sophie O’Sullivan. “Our aim is to make drone operations beyond visual line of sight a safe and routine part of everyday life.”
Amazon announced in October last year that it planned to begin delivering packages via drones in the UK, Italy, and a third location in the United States. Photo by C.Stadler/Bwag, Wikimedia commons.