Amazon calls for Federal Rules for Drone Deliveries in US

Amazon. com said on Tuesday that the power to regulate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) authorized by federal aviation regulators should not be given to states and local communities. Amazon. com is making efforts to deliver products using drones.

"Uniform federal rules must apply. Given the interstate nature of UAS operations, states and localities must not be allowed to regulate UAS that the FAA has authorized, including with respect to airspace, altitude, purpose of operations, performance and operator qualifications", said Paul Misener, the e-commerce retailer's vice president for global public policy.

Misener will be present before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of a witness panel that also comprises a senior Federal Aviation Administration official and a privacy advocate.

Making sophisticated drones for delivering packages to consumers has become a new goal of Amazon. com and other companies including Google Inc. Those in favor of development of delivery drones have called the FAA to accommodate advanced technology in commercial drone regulations expected by the end of 2016. Going by the current proposed rules, flights would be limited to daylight hours at low altitudes and within an operator's visual line of site.

A variety of approaches are being used by states and local municipalities across the United States to regulate drone use on their own, in absence of comprehensive FAA rules.

Amazon has also approached National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to help develop a possible air traffic control system for drones to enable integration of UAS into US air space.