FAA Says 2.2 Million Drone Flights Have Been Deconflicted This Year as Part 108 Waits at the White House

The FAA used a Washington policy conference this week to argue that drone integration has moved past the experimental stage, even though the rule that would make beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight routine still has not been published. At AUVSI’s Drone and AAM Policy Symposium, which wrapped up on Tuesday, Nov. 10, agency officials shared a large traffic management figure, opened the door to rethinking aircraft certification, and watched the industry’s biggest trade group introduce a new chief executive.

2.2 million deconflicted flights

Jessica Jones, executive director of the FAA’s Office of Advanced Aviation Technologies, said 2.2 million drone flights have gone through strategic deconfliction under UAS Traffic Management (UTM) since January, according to Autonomy Global’s report from the session. “UTM is here and it’s now,” she said. Strategic deconfliction means operators share planned flight areas ahead of time so overlapping operations can be sorted out before anyone takes off. The FAA did not break the number down by operator or program.

Jones also said too much testing happens in isolation. She asked developers to involve the FAA early and use its designated test sites. NASA’s Parimal “PK” Kopardekar described research that adapts UTM tools for wildfire response, so crews can plan and deconflict drone flights around the clock, including at night and in heavy smoke, with the goal of eventually handing the technology to states and industry.

A look at type certification

Acting Deputy Administrator Liam McKenna said the FAA has started examining changes to aircraft type certification. “It can’t be the case of safety and it can’t be the case of innovation that we have a process that takes this long that is this cumbersome,” he said. He asked industry for feedback, particularly on eVTOL aircraft, and listed broader rulemaking ideas under consideration: shorter rules, a quicker path from concept to publication, artificial intelligence to help with research and comment review, and more transparency between proposed and final rules. He did not announce a package or a timeline.

McKenna also highlighted the new FAA test sites run by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Indiana, the first additions in nearly a decade, and described the Skyways offshore BVLOS approval and the new interagency counter-drone agreement, both announced earlier in the week.

Part 108 is still waiting

What officials did not deliver was a date for Part 108, the BVLOS rule, or for related actions such as Part 149 and the Section 2209 critical infrastructure restrictions. The message was that action is coming soon. The final Part 108 rule has been listed as pending review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs since July 10. Under the 2024 FAA reauthorization, the statutory deadline is Dec. 7, 2026, 16 months after the proposed rule was published in August 2025. Until the rule is final, long-range operations continue through waivers and exemptions, one operator at a time.

New leader at AUVSI

AUVSI also named Brett Feddersen as its next president and CEO, effective Dec. 1. He comes from counter-drone company D-Fend Solutions, where he was vice president of strategy and governmental affairs. His background includes time as a Pennsylvania state trooper and helicopter pilot, an Army aviation and intelligence officer, director for transportation and border security at the White House, and executive director for national security programs at the FAA. He succeeds Michael Robbins. Feddersen told attendees he wants to push for regulatory clarity and timelines, and asked members for data on what is slowing them down.

What this means for drone pilots

For working pilots, the takeaway is that the FAA is building the systems for routine BVLOS before the rule exists. The 2.2 million deconflicted flights show the traffic management side is already running at scale for some operators. When Part 108 arrives, companies will need crews who understand airspace, risk and operating limits on day one, and the clock on that rule is now down to weeks if the agency meets its legal deadline.

The best way to get ready is to master today’s rules. Part 107 remains the foundation for nearly every commercial drone job, and it will still matter after BVLOS rules are written. Drone U’s Part 107 test prep course covers airspace, weather, regulations and operations, and students have been known to take the online course in 3 days and pass the test.

Sources: Autonomy Global; AUVSI; OIRA regulatory review (reginfo.gov); Federal Register: Part 108 proposed rule.

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