WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday advanced its proposed rules permitting drone flights beyond visual line of sight, opening a formal public comment period that industry groups say could reshape US delivery and inspection markets.

The proposal, known as Part 108, would establish standardised requirements for operators of small unmanned aircraft to fly beyond the operator's direct sight. Current rules require companies such as Amazon's Prime Air, Alphabet's Wing and Zipline to obtain case-by-case exemptions, a process the FAA has described as slow and inconsistent.

Under the draft rules, operators would need to meet detection-and-avoidance standards and demonstrate airworthiness of their aircraft before receiving broad authorisation. The FAA said the changes respond to a directive from an executive order issued in 2025 that instructed the agency to expand commercial drone operations.

The Commercial Drone Alliance and the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International have pressed regulators for a scalable rule, arguing that the waiver system limited investment in domestic drone logistics. Privacy advocates and some pilot organisations, including the Air Line Pilots Association, have raised concerns about airspace safety and surveillance as low-altitude traffic increases.

The comment period is expected to run for 60 days. The FAA said final rules could take effect in 2027 following review of public submissions. Analysts at consulting firm McKinsey have estimated that beyond-visual-line-of-sight approval could unlock billions of dollars in commercial drone activity across delivery, agriculture and infrastructure inspection.