The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it has approved authorization for dozens of drones to operate in support of response and recovery efforts in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, which passed through the state early this week.
The FAA said Friday that it has issued 132 airspace authorizations — many of them to government agencies, including the Air National Guard, which was conducting aerial surveys of disaster-stricken areas, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which was mapping some of the hardest-hit areas for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Jacksonville Electric Authority deployed drones to assess damage and ensure the safety of its crews, the FAA said, and Florida Power and Light used 49 drone teams on surveying missions.
Private operators such as Airbus Aerial, the commercial drone services division of Airbus, operated drones — also known by several other names, including unmanned aircraft systems — to help insurance compa…
