The Federal Aviation Administration went to AUVSI's Drone & AAM Policy Symposium with a big number. It did not bring a date.
Jessica Jones of the FAA's Office of Advanced Aviation Technologies told attendees that 2.2 million drone flights have gone through UTM (UAS Traffic Management) strategic deconfliction since January. "UTM is here and it's now," she said, according to DroneXL. The symposium ended Nov. 10. Over its sessions, FAA officials talked about traffic management, waivers, test-site research money and a possible rethink of type certification. Nobody said when the final beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) rule, Part 108, will be published.
That rule is not with the FAA right now. The federal government's regulatory review list shows it is still waiting for White House sign-off.
Where Part 108 actually is
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review list on reginfo.gov includes this DOT-FAA entry: RIN 2120-AL82, "Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations." The stage is listed as Final Rule and the status as Pending Review. OIRA received it on 07/10/2026, and the legal deadline field reads "Statutory."
That means the final rule has been under review for about four months. DroneXL reports that the statutory deadline is Dec. 7 and traces it to the 2024 FAA Reauthorization. That leaves less than four weeks. The record gives no public sign of when review will finish.
Officials at the symposium did not settle the question. DroneXL reports that no dates were given for Part 108, Part 149 or Section 2209. Autonomy Global's coverage agrees: no firm dates on the BVLOS rule, Part 149 or Section 2209.
What the FAA did announce
Without a rule date, the agency's message focused on systems already working and approvals already granted.
UTM volume. The 2.2 million figure was the headline. It counts flights that went through strategic deconfliction, meaning operators' planned flights were checked against one another before takeoff. Jones presented UTM as something operating today rather than a future concept. A separate FAA/NASA panel covered UTM and wildfire response, including operating through darkness and smoke, Autonomy Global reported.
A Skyways approval. Liam McKenna, the FAA's acting deputy administrator, announced an authorization for Skyways to operate beyond the 12-mile territorial boundary, according to Autonomy Global. DroneXL describes it as a Section 927 waiver issued Monday. Approvals like this one, granted one operator at a time, are how much beyond-line-of-sight work happens while the general rule is pending.
Test-site research money. DroneXL notes that a $12 million test-site research round was announced in October.
A type-certification rethink. McKenna also opened a discussion of how the FAA certifies aircraft types. He did not present a reform package or a timetable. He asked industry for feedback, especially from eVTOL developers, DroneXL reported. For now this is an open consultation, not a proposal.
The gap between the numbers and the rule
The FAA's message and its regulatory status point in different directions. A UTM system that has deconflicted millions of flights suggests the technical side of routine, scaled drone operations is maturing. But the rule meant to make BVLOS ordinary instead of exceptional is still in review. Its title, "Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations," states that goal directly.
Until the rule is published, the Skyways approval shows how the system works: operators get permission case by case. Each waiver or authorization counts as progress for that company. Taken together, though, they show that the general framework is not yet in place.
The type-certification discussion raises a second timing question. McKenna invited feedback without a deadline or a draft. So the certification side of advanced air mobility, including the eVTOL programs he singled out, is at an earlier stage than Part 108. Part 108 at least exists as a final rule in interagency review.
Leadership change at AUVSI
The symposium also marked a change at the industry group. Autonomy Global reports that Brett Feddersen will become AUVSI's president and CEO effective Dec. 1. That is six days before the Dec. 7 statutory deadline DroneXL cites. In his opening remarks, Autonomy Global reports, Feddersen pledged to press for regulatory clarity and timelines that help companies move technology into operational use.
Why It Matters
Part 108 is the difference between BVLOS as a waiver and BVLOS as a standard way to operate. Many commercial drone business models that depend on scale, including delivery, long-line inspection and wide-area public-safety work, would need the general rule rather than individual exemptions. The FAA's UTM numbers show the airspace-management tools are being used at volume. The OIRA entry shows the regulatory side has been under review since July 10, with a statutory deadline approaching.
The things to watch are concrete. The first is whether the RIN 2120-AL82 entry on reginfo.gov changes from "Pending Review" before Dec. 7. The second is whether the FAA follows McKenna's type-certification comments with an actual proposal and schedule. The third is whether Part 149 and Section 2209, which also had no dates at the symposium, move at all. Until then, operators will keep depending on case-by-case approvals, and FAA statements about UTM volume will be all the agency has to show while the BVLOS rule stays in review.
