News/Media Alliance Joins Coalition Letter Urging Administration to Prioritize Drone Rulemaking

On October 3, 2024, the News/Media Alliance joined a coalition of news media organizations in a letter to senior policymakers urging the Administration to prioritize the publication of a proposed rulemaking to enable routine unmanned aircraft system ("drones") beyond visual line of sight ("BVLOS") operations in the U.S. national airspace system. In May President Biden signed the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 into law, which required the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking by September 16, 2024, to enable routine BVLOS operations by drones. The FAA has not yet issued such a notice and as such this coalition letter urges the responsible federal agencies to work together to publish the proposed rule without further delay. The News/Media Alliance previously joined two stakeholder letters in July urging the DOT and FAA to begin the rulemaking. The use of drone footage can provide journalists and communities with important information, including helping to assess widespread destruction following natural disasters, such as the recent devastation left by Hurricane Helene in Florida and North Carolina.