RILA Submits Comments to FAA on Drone Registration

In comments submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week, retailers are supportive of an interim final rule on the registration of drones for recreational use issued in December, but note areas where improvement is needed. Retailers continue to push for an unmanned air systems (UAS) registration requirement prior-to-operation and increased consumer education on safety practices. 

“We were pleased to see the FAA propose an online platform for consumers to register their drones prior to use. As Transportation Secretary Foxx noted, the system has already been successful in registering over 180,000 UASs since December, and we hope that with more education, this number will continue to grow,” said Kathleen McGuigan, senior vice president of legal & regulatory affairs at RILA. “Our hope is that the final rule will also eliminate the possibility of a point-of-sale registration process, which would be costly, inefficient, and difficult to implement, while also posing significant data privacy concerns for consumers.”   

In addition to urging the FAA to require drone registration prior to use, RILA asks the FAA to develop a comprehensive consumer education campaign to promote consumer awareness of UAS safety practices and registration requirements. RILA is an official supporter of the “Know Before You Fly” campaign established by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), and the Small UAV Coalition. 

The full text of RILA’s comments can be found here.

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RILA is the trade association of the world's largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers.