FAA grants approval for Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery fleet

Annie Palmer@ANNIERPALMER

The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that Amazon has received approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, a milestone that allows it to expand unmanned package delivery,

Approval from the FAA gives Amazon broad privileges to “safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers,” the FAA said. The FAA certification comes underPart 135 of FAA regulations, which gives Amazon the ability to carry property on small drones “beyond the visual line of sight” of the operator.

In 2013, Amazon began testing delivery drones aiming to drop off packages at customers’ doorsteps in 30 minutes or less. Last August, the company submitted a petition for FAA approval of those plans. In its petition, Amazon said deliveries would occur in areas with low population density and packages would weigh 5 pounds or less.

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