[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":239},["ShallowReactive",2],{"en-post-faa-easa-bvlos-regulation-comparison-2026":3,"en-related-faa-easa-bvlos-regulation-comparison-2026":204},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":184,"date":185,"description":186,"draft":187,"extension":188,"image":189,"meta":190,"navigation":191,"path":192,"seo":193,"slug":194,"stem":195,"tags":196,"translation_slug":177,"updated":202,"__hash__":203},"en_posts\u002Fen\u002Fposts\u002Ffaa-easa-bvlos-regulation-comparison-2026.md","BVLOS Rules: FAA and EASA Compare Notes at Vegas Expo","Lucas Buzzo",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":176},"minimark",[10,14,17,22,25,28,30,34,37,40,43,46,48,52,129,132,134,138,147,150,152,156,158],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Senior regulators from the FAA and EASA shared a stage for the first time to compare their approaches to BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) drone flight, at the closing keynote of Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas on September 3, 2026. Robert Reckert of the FAA and Dan Dousi of EASA agreed their frameworks look different on paper but are converging on the same safety outcome, and both said no single rule will finish the job of scaling routine BVLOS operations.",[15,16],"hr",{},[18,19,21],"h2",{"id":20},"background","Background",[11,23,24],{},"BVLOS is drone flight beyond what the remote pilot can see with the naked eye, the operation mode needed for long-range infrastructure inspection, agriculture, and package delivery. Under current rules, both the United States and the European Union treat it as higher-risk than standard visual-line-of-sight flying, and operators on both sides of the Atlantic have spent years working through waivers and case-by-case exemptions to fly it commercially.",[11,26,27],{},"That is changing on two different tracks. The FAA has proposed Part 108, a rule meant to replace individual BVLOS waivers with a standard certification path; as of early September 2026 it remains a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, with the FAA reopening comments on right-of-way and electronic-conspicuity requirements through February 11, 2026, and a final rule unlikely before late 2026 or 2027. The EU took a different route already in force: the U-space framework, adopted in 2021 and applicable since 2023, layered on top of SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment), a risk-based methodology now at version 2.5, adopted in 2025.",[15,29],{},[18,31,33],{"id":32},"what-reckert-and-dousi-said","What Reckert and Dousi Said",[11,35,36],{},"The panel, titled \"Two Skies, One Conversation: Comparing FAA and EASA Approaches to BVLOS Drone Operations,\" was moderated by Avtrain CEO Julie Garland and closed out the three-day expo at Caesars Forum.",[11,38,39],{},"Reckert, the FAA's acting division manager for emerging technologies within Flight Standards, was direct about the similarity underneath the different paperwork: \"I don't think that our methodology and outcomes are that different – the framework is different,\" he said, adding that \"although EASA and FAA take a different approach, the safety outcome that we're looking for is the same.\"",[11,41,42],{},"Dousi, EASA's head of department for Innovative Air Mobility, defended the EU's risk-based model, calling the current version of the standard \"a good compromise\" between rigor and usability for operators applying for Specific-category approvals.",[11,44,45],{},"Both regulators pushed back on the idea that a finished rulebook solves airspace scaling on its own. Reckert cautioned that \"publishing a rule will not resolve every challenge,\" framing Part 108 as a transition rather than an endpoint, and pointed to airspace congestion as a problem regulation alone cannot fix: \"We as a regulator can't do it alone. We can't write enough rules to make the congestion manageable.\" He also flagged data as the current bottleneck for both agencies: \"The big lesson learned is the need to gather the data.\"",[15,47],{},[18,49,51],{"id":50},"part-108-vs-sora-where-they-align-and-differ","Part 108 vs. SORA: Where They Align and Differ",[53,54,55,70],"table",{},[56,57,58],"thead",{},[59,60,61,64,67],"tr",{},[62,63],"th",{},[62,65,66],{},"FAA (United States)",[62,68,69],{},"EASA (European Union)",[71,72,73,85,96,107,118],"tbody",{},[59,74,75,79,82],{},[76,77,78],"td",{},"Core mechanism",[76,80,81],{},"Part 108 (proposed) + Part 107 waivers today",[76,83,84],{},"SORA 2.5 risk assessment + U-space",[59,86,87,90,93],{},[76,88,89],{},"Status as of Sept 2026",[76,91,92],{},"NPRM stage, comments reopened through Feb 11, 2026",[76,94,95],{},"In force since 2023 (U-space), SORA 2.5 since 2025",[59,97,98,101,104],{},[76,99,100],{},"Approval model",[76,102,103],{},"Standard certification path (once finalized)",[76,105,106],{},"Case-by-case risk scoring per operation",[59,108,109,112,115],{},[76,110,111],{},"Airspace layer",[76,113,114],{},"UAS Traffic Management (UTM), still developing",[76,116,117],{},"U-space, an EU-wide regulatory framework",[59,119,120,123,126],{},[76,121,122],{},"Predecessor programs",[76,124,125],{},"Integration Pilot Program (2017), BEYOND program",[76,127,128],{},"National pilot schemes folded into EU rule",[11,130,131],{},"The two frameworks start from different legal traditions, the FAA has historically certified aircraft and pilots, while EASA's SORA scores the risk of each specific operation, but both now converge on the same practical questions: how does an operator prove the drone can detect and avoid other traffic, and how much airspace data does a regulator need before approving routine flight over people and infrastructure.",[15,133],{},[18,135,137],{"id":136},"what-this-means-for-drone-pilots","What This Means for Drone Pilots",[11,139,140,141,146],{},"For operators flying only inside one jurisdiction, the near-term picture is unchanged: US commercial BVLOS still requires a ",[142,143,145],"a",{"href":144},"\u002Ffaa-part-107-license\u002F","Part 107"," waiver until Part 108 is finalized, and EU operators still work through SORA under their national aviation authority. The practical signal from this keynote is direction, not a deadline. Regulators on both sides are now talking to each other openly about aligning risk-assessment concepts, which increases the odds that a BVLOS approval built for one market translates faster into the other over the next few years.",[11,148,149],{},"For operators running fleets across both regions, drone delivery networks, infrastructure inspection contractors, and agricultural operators, the comparison is worth tracking closely: a company that designs its detect-and-avoid and data-logging systems to satisfy the stricter of the two frameworks today is less likely to need a costly redesign once Part 108 lands. Reckert's comment about data collection is the clearest hint of what regulators will ask for next: operators who already log detailed flight and conflict data will have an easier time qualifying under whichever rule applies to them.",[15,151],{},[153,154],"faq",{":items":155},"[{\"question\":\"Is FAA Part 108 final yet?\",\"answer\":\"No. As of September 2026, Part 108 remains a proposed rule (NPRM). The FAA reopened public comment on right-of-way and electronic-conspicuity provisions through February 11, 2026, and a final rule is not expected before late 2026 or 2027, with a transition period after that.\"},{\"question\":\"What is SORA in EASA's drone rules?\",\"answer\":\"SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment) is EASA's risk-based methodology for approving drone flights in the Specific category, including most BVLOS operations. It scores the risk of a specific flight rather than certifying a standard aircraft type, and the current version, SORA 2.5, was adopted in 2025.\"},{\"question\":\"Do FAA and EASA BVLOS rules work the same way?\",\"answer\":\"No, the frameworks differ structurally: the FAA is moving toward a standard certification path under Part 108, while EASA uses per-operation risk scoring under SORA within the U-space airspace framework. Regulators from both agencies say the underlying safety outcome they target is the same, despite the different legal approach.\"}]",[15,157],{},[11,159,160],{},[161,162,163,164,170,171],"em",{},"Sources: ",[142,165,169],{"href":166,"rel":167},"https:\u002F\u002Fdronelife.com\u002F2026\u002F09\u002F03\u002Ffaa-easa-bvlos-regulation-scaling\u002F",[168],"nofollow","DRONELIFE"," | ",[142,172,175],{"href":173,"rel":174},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.commercialuavnews.com\u002Fcommercial-uav-expo-2026-regulators-faa-easa-part-108-bvlos",[168],"Commercial UAV News",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":179},"",2,[180,181,182,183],{"id":20,"depth":178,"text":21},{"id":32,"depth":178,"text":33},{"id":50,"depth":178,"text":51},{"id":136,"depth":178,"text":137},"news","2026-09-04","FAA and EASA regulators shared a stage at Commercial UAV Expo on Sept 3, comparing BVLOS approval paths under Part 108 and SORA. Here's what they said.",false,"md","\u002Fimages\u002Ffaa-easa-bvlos-regulation-comparison-2026.jpg",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fposts\u002Ffaa-easa-bvlos-regulation-comparison-2026",{"title":5,"description":186},"faa-easa-bvlos-regulation-comparison-2026","en\u002Fposts\u002Ffaa-easa-bvlos-regulation-comparison-2026",[197,198,199,200,201],"BVLOS","FAA","EASA","Part 108","regulations",null,"AwUnOo_a2edoAv3Hz-ctH-Z7R4ccPOawXFpYx204DPY",[205,207,219,230],{"title":5,"description":186,"date":185,"category":184,"image":189,"slug":194,"tags":206,"author":6},[197,198,199,200,201],{"title":208,"description":209,"date":210,"category":184,"image":211,"slug":212,"tags":213,"author":6},"Airbility Raises $4.7M to Build Cheap Drone Interceptors","South Korean startup Airbility raised $4.7M for interceptor drones that cost $50-$3,000 per engagement, versus $4M for a Patriot missile. Here's how it works.","2026-09-03","\u002Fimages\u002Fairbility-47m-counter-drone-funding-2026.jpg","airbility-47m-counter-drone-funding-2026",[214,215,216,217,218],"counter-drone","drone funding","defense drones","airbility","south korea",{"title":220,"description":221,"date":210,"category":184,"image":222,"slug":223,"tags":224,"author":6},"US Drone Tariffs Take Effect: DJI, Autel Prices Rise","US tariffs of up to 100% on imported drones took effect September 3, 2026. Here's who pays more, when prices actually rise, and what pilots should do.","\u002Fimages\u002Fus-drone-tariffs-take-effect-2026.jpg","us-drone-tariffs-take-effect-2026",[225,226,227,228,229],"regulation","tariffs","dji","autel","drone market",{"title":231,"description":232,"date":233,"category":184,"image":234,"slug":235,"tags":236,"author":6},"California Bans Drones Within 400 Feet of Concerts (2026)","California's AB 2113 bans drones within 400 feet of ticketed concerts, sports, and shows, with $500 fines, key exceptions, and a looming FAA preemption fight.","2026-09-02","\u002Fimages\u002Fcalifornia-drone-ban-concerts-2026.jpg","california-drone-ban-concerts-2026",[237,238,198,201],"drone laws","California",1788508770129]