Michael Robbins

Rule Changes

Leading industry advocacy on Part 108 rule

For nearly a decade, every commercial drone operator in the United States that wanted to fly beyond a pilot's line of sight had to apply for an individual waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — a slow, bespoke process that capped the industry at small pilot programs. On August 7, 2025, the FAA published a proposed rule that would replace that waiver system with a standardized regulatory pathway, creating a new Part 108 of federal aviation rules specifically for routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations. In January 2026, the FAA reopened the comment period for 14 days (closing February 11, 2026), signaling active refinement of the rule ahead of an expected March 2026 finalization.

Updated Feb 21