Drone Remote ID enforcement delay is discretionary, not a free pass

The FAA on Wednesday announced it was pushing back the compliance deadline for its drone Remote ID rule by six months, to March 16, 2024. Does that mean the agency is giving a free pass to pilots or that all apparent noncompliance in the meantime will be ignored? Not really. Here’s what is happening…

Remote ID, as you likely know, is a feature that enables a drone in flight to provide its identification and location information to other parties. The FAA likens it to a “digital license plate” for a drone. Most drones operating in the US airspace are required by law to have this capability because federal agencies need a mechanism to locate the operator when a drone appears to be flying in an unsafe manner or where it is not allowed to fly.

There are three ways drone pilots can meet the identification requirements of the Remote ID rule:

• By flying a standard Remote ID drone that has broadcast capabilities built-in,
• By retrofitting the…