US regulations have made it difficult for Amazon and other big retailers to quickly roll out drone delivery experiments. In April, 2015 the internet retail company sent the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a letter that urged it to ease up on its drone testing regulations, fortune.com reports.
Companies that wish to fly drones must currently seek the FAA’s approval on a case-by-case basis. The FAA approved Amazon in April 2015 to test drones, albeit with a bunch of restrictions, including forbidding the company from flying drones at night and ensuring that the robots never fly out of an operator’s line of site.
Amazon and some drone advocacy groups like the Small UAV Coalition have argued against the FAA’s tough drone rules. These groups argue that countries like France, Sweden, and Norway have less strict rules governing commercial use of drones and that the US risks losing out to other countries when it comes to drone technology innovation.
However, the FAA has maintained that drone safety is one of its top priorities, which is why it’s been taking its time finalising its commercial drone rules. At a press conference last month, FAA administrator Michael Huerta said his agency expects to finalize rules for commercial operations by late May, 2015.
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