UPS just won FAA approval to fly as many delivery drones as it wants

UPS announced that it has received government approval to operate a "drone airline." Don't expect your next package to arrive directly on the doorstep of a drone, though: UPS says it will first use this certification to build a drone delivery network for hospital campuses around the United States. UPS said in July that it applied for permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate the network, and today it got just that.

UPS's drone delivery subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, was granted a Part 135 certification. While drones may not seem like airplanes that need to be regulated the way commercial aircraft do, the federal government considers them on a par. Drone delivery companies must be certified by the FAA just like airline companies.

UPS says the certification will let the company fly as many drones as it wants, let the drones fly beyond a pilot's visual line of sight, carry cargo weighing more than 55 pounds, and fly at night. None of these things are allowed without exemption from the FAA, and Part 1[ads1]35 Standard deletes UPS to do them all the time.

UPS states that it is the first company to receive full certification of Part 135 Standard. Other major drone delivery companies, including Amazon Air and Uber Eats, have not. In April, however, Alphabet & # 39; s Wing received a certificate from Part 135 for single airlines, which basically relies on a single employee at Wing to fly drones, not the entire company. Wing says it will use the certification to deliver supplies in Virginia.

Below is a video from UPS about how delivery drones can look in action. (Listen with headphones to hear UPS's legendary music choices. I also love the video's lamentable flights.)