Pilots Express Concerns With Part 108 Drone Proposal

AOPA, ALPA, and other groups feel the FAA is not hearing their worries about risk elevation.

Jack Daleo

Friday, October 10, 2025 at 02:34 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

There is a stark divide between pilots and commercial drone operators, such as Wing, when it comes to the FAA’s proposed Part 108 rule. [Courtesy: Wing]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's proposed Part 108 rule aims to enable widespread Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations for commercial purposes like delivery and inspection.
Traditional pilot organizations, including AOPA and ALPA, strongly oppose the proposal, submitting over one million comments citing significant safety risks to crewed aircraft.
Pilot concerns primarily revolve around drones being granted right-of-way over manned aircraft in certain airspaces, the perceived inadequacy of drone detect-and-avoid technology, and less stringent training/certification requirements for drone operators.
The drone industry also criticizes the proposal for imposing overly burdensome security assessments and prescriptive design requirements, highlighting a broad "great divide" in stakeholder opinions that the FAA must now address.

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The FAA has spent more than four years developing regulations for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flight. Its publication of a proposed Part 108 rule in August marked its largest step toward opening the floodgates for commercial drone delivery, inspection, and any number of missions outside the direct view of the operator—including in controlled airspace.

But pilots represented by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and other groups fear the proposal elevates risk to crewed aircraft.