This is a must read for pilots that operate near critical infrastructures. Now is the time to get the ruling correct.
Federal Aviation Administration has published its long-awaited proposed rule on drone restrictions near critical infrastructure, nearly a decade after Congress directed it to act. Operators have been navigating inconsistent, ad hoc restrictions with no federal standard. This rule starts to fix that. What it gets right: FAA retains control of all designated airspace. Certificated operators flying under Parts 91, 107, 108, 135, and 137 keep an explicit federal right of access. Facility security personnel cannot deny entry to a compliant operator broadcasting Remote ID. That is the right framework. But a right on paper is not a right in practice. The notification requirements as written require up to eight data elements per flight, which does not scale for commercial operations. AUVSI is pushing for automated Remote ID-based whitelisting. Two sectors with heavy UAS activity, food and agriculture and water and wastewater, have no eligibility criteria written yet. And large UAS and advanced air mobility platforms using ADS-B Out instead of standard Remote ID may have no compliant access pathway at all. FAA needs to establish an alternative conspicuity standard before this rule is finalized. We raised all of this with members at XPONENTIAL Show 2026 in Detroit. We are taking both this NPRM and the still-pending BVLOS rulemaking directly to Congress at Hill Day. AUVSI Advocacy members shape our formal comment through the Air Advocacy Committee. Learn more about Advocacy membership: https://lnkd.in/etuqVyWB The comment deadline is July 6, 2026. If your operations would be affected, your data belongs in the federal record: https://lnkd.in/dBnaB5JK #Drones #UAS #DronePolicy #BVLOS #AdvancedAirMobility Michael Robbins Scott Shtofman Benjamin Haas Alexander Laska