Flytrex to use new FAA BVLOS approval to scale US-wide drone delivery activity

Aerial food delivery specialist Flytrex has announced authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permitting it to perform beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights in markets across the US, an exemption to operate above homes and people without ground observers it plans to use in accelerated scaling of its activities.

Flytrex said the FAA waiver allows its longtime UAV operating partner Causey Aviation to fly BVLOS delivery flights without needing visual observers, creating a degree of liberty that many observers consider essential for sector companies and services to reach their full potential. 

Due to the strict safety considerations and exacting process of obtaining that authorization, the regulator has only extended it to a relatively small number of startups, most recently global instant logistics leader Zipline.

Obtaining the coveted country-wide BVLOS waiver is the most recent in several milestones Flytrex has passed in building its aerial delivery business serving food and restaurant clients. 

Last January, it announced its scaling ambitions had gotten a major boost with the Causey Aviation receiving FAA part 135 certification, allowing it to make regular flights as a drone airline transporting food, drinks, and other goods to a potential 82 million household across the US. 

Flytrex, which initiated US drone delivery activity in South Carolina suburbs before extending its activity to Texas, has also introduced use of its automated payload pickup system in September. The company said the innovation will further cut time needed to collect and transport orders from client businesses to their customers to mere minutes. 

Yet despite those and previous breakthroughs – which contributed to Flytrex increasing the households its serves from 40,000 to nearly 100,000 homes since 2022 – CEO Yariv Bash clearly considers the BVLOS FAA authorization an essential condition for taking scaling activity to a higher level.

“We take extreme pride in our partnership with Causey Aviation Unmanned and look forward to expanding our joint operations with this highly sought-after authorization from the FAA,” said Bash. “This BVLOS approval not only validates the strength of our drone delivery service, but also sets a precedent for profitable, expanded operations in the industry. As the DoorDash of the sky, we are always striving to offer safer, more efficient, and cost-effective alternatives to traditional delivery methods – BVLOS operations allow us to do just that, on a massive scale.”

Bagging the coveted BVLOS permission was also the fruit of Flytrex and Causey Aviation having long worked on testing remotely piloted long-distance drone flights for delivery and other services under the FAA’s BEYOND program. It has also assisted federal and state efforts to safely integrate increased numbers of enterprise UAVs into the national airspace.