The government plans to grant waivers to seven movie and television companies to use small unmanned aircraft in film-making, the first permits for commercial drone flights in the continental US, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.
The Federal Aviation Administration will let the production companies fly small drones on closed sets in the US, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorised to discuss Thursday's announcement. The companies include Flying-Cam Inc, which has used drones overseas to capture sequences for the James Bond film Skyfall.
Forty other companies have applied for exemptions to fly drones in the US, including Amazon.com Inc and Berkshire Hathaway Inc's BNSF Railway Co. Thursday's action would pave the way for interim approvals as formal regulations governing how companies can legally use unmanned aircraft in their businesses are still at least a year away.
