The day has finally come: the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released its regulations for commercial drones.
That means drone pilots can now fly without waiting to get permission from the government. Previously, commercial operators were required to apply for a waiver from the FAA to operate small drones for commercial purposes.
However, the regulations are only for drones weighing under 55 pounds and do not apply to companies like Amazon looking to use drones for delivery purposes.
The regulations require pilots to fly drones within a line of sight and prohibit flying over unprotected people on the ground, the FAA wrote in a press release. Drones can fly during the day as well as at "twilight" if they have anti-collision lights.
Pilots must also be 16 or older and have a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating.
Drone operators have the option to apply to waive some of the new restrictions.
According to industry estimates, the new regulations could generate more than $82 billion for the economy and create more than 100,000 new jobs over the next 10 years, the FAA wrote in its press release.
The FAA did not state when the regulations will go into effect, but Bloomberg reported that they will go live two months from publication in the Federal Register.
