63518 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

1Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft 

final rule, 86 FR 4390, January 15, 2021, available 

at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/ 

01/15/2020-28948/remote-identification-ofunmanned-aircraft. 

2 14 CFR 89.105. 

3Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft; 

Delay, 86 FR 13629, March 10, 2021, available at 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/ 

03/10/2021-04882/remote-identification-ofunmanned-aircraft-delay. 

4Enforcement Policy Regarding Production 

Requirements for Standard Remote Identification 

Unmanned Aircraft, 87 FR 55685, September 12, 

2022, available at https://www.federalregister.gov/ 

documents/2022/09/12/2022-19644/enforcementpolicy-regarding-production-requirements-forstandard-remote-identification-unmanned. 

PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, 

B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR 

TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND 

REPORTING POINTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 14 CFR 

part 71 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40103, 

40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 

1959–1963 Comp., p. 389. 

§ 71.1 [Amended] 

■ 2. The incorporation by reference in 

14 CFR part 71.1 of FAA Order JO 

7400.11H, Airspace Designations and 

Reporting Points, dated August 11, 

2023, and effective September 15, 2023, 

is amended as follows: 

Paragraph 6002 Class E Airspace Areas 

Designated as a Surface Area. 

* * * * * 

AAL AK E2 Tanana, AK [Amended] 

Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport, AK 

(Lat. 65°10′28′′ N, long. 152°06′29′′ W) 

That airspace within a 5.1-mile radius of 

the airport, and within 3.6 miles each side of 

the airport’s 214° bearing extending from the 

5.1-mile radius to 6.5 miles southwest of the 

airport. This Class E airspace area is effective 

during the specific dates and times 

established in advance by a Notice to Air 

Missions. The effective date and time will 

thereafter be continuously published in the 

Chart Supplement. 

* * * * * 

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas 

Extending Upward From 700 Feet or More 

Above the Surface of the Earth. 

* * * * * 

AAL AK E5 Tanana, AK [Amended] 

Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport, AK 

(Lat. 65°10′28′′ N, long. 152°06′29′′ W) 

That airspace extending upward from 700 

feet above the surface within a 6.6-mile 

radius of the airport, and within 1.9 miles 

each side of the airport’s 082° bearing 

extending from the 6.6-mile radius to 10.5 

miles east of the airport; that airspace 

extending upward from 1,200 feet above the 

surface within a 73-mile radius of the airport. 

* * * * * 

Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on 

August 31, 2023. 

B.G. Chew, 

Group Manager, Operations Support Group, 

Western Service Center. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19295 Filed 9–14–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 89 

[Docket No. FAA–2019–1100; Amdt. No. 89– 

2] 

RIN 2120–AL31 

Enforcement Policy Regarding 

Operator Compliance Deadline for 

Remote Identification of Unmanned 

Aircraft 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notification of enforcement 

policy. 

SUMMARY: For noncompliance with the 

remote identification operating 

requirements applicable to unmanned 

aircraft, which occurs on or before 

March 16, 2024, the FAA will consider 

all circumstances, in particular, 

unanticipated issues with the available 

supply and excessive cost of remote 

identification broadcast modules and 

unanticipated delay in the FAA’s 

approval of FAA-recognized 

identification areas, when exercising its 

discretion in determining whether to 

take enforcement action. 

DATES: This policy is effective 

September 15, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben 

Walsh, Flight Technologies and 

Procedures Division, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence Ave. 

SW, Building 10A/8th Floor, 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone 1– 

844–FLY–MY–UA (1–844–359–6981); 

email: UAShelp@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access and Filing 

A copy of this document may be 

viewed online at https://

www.regulations.gov using the docket 

number listed above. A copy of this 

document will be placed in the docket. 

Electronic retrieval help and guidelines 

are available on the website. It is 

available 24 hours each day, 365 days 

each year. An electronic copy of this 

document may also be downloaded 

from the Office of the Federal Register’s 

website at https://

www.federalregister.gov and the 

Government Publishing Office’s website 

at https://www.govinfo.gov. 

Background 

On January 15, 2021, the Remote 

Identification of Unmanned Aircraft 

final rule (RIN 2120–AL31) published in 

the Federal Register.1 Unless otherwise 

authorized by the Administrator or as 

prescribed in 14 CFR 89.120, no person 

may operate an unmanned aircraft 

subject to the applicability in § 89.101 

after September 16, 2023, outside the 

boundaries of an FAA-recognized 

identification area (FRIA) unless it is a 

standard remote identification 

unmanned aircraft or equipped with a 

remote identification broadcast 

module.2 The application and approval 

process for FRIAs is set forth in 14 CFR 

89 subpart C. The majority of the final 

rule became effective on April 21, 

2021.3

In accordance with the final rule, 

standard remote identification 

unmanned aircraft and remote 

identification broadcast modules must 

be designed and produced to meet the 

requirements of Title 14 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations part 89 (14 CFR part 

89). A person designing or producing a 

standard remote identification 

unmanned aircraft or remote 

identification broadcast module for 

operation in the United States must 

show that the unmanned aircraft or 

broadcast module meets the 

requirements of an FAA accepted means 

of compliance. A means of compliance 

describes the methods by which the 

person complies with the performancebased requirements for remote 

identification. 

On September 12, 2022, the FAA 

published an Enforcement Policy 

indicating that the FAA would exercise 

its discretion in determining how to 

handle any apparent noncompliance 

with the manufacturing deadline set 

forth in the final rule, due to the delay 

in acceptance of the ASTM means of 

compliance.4

In recent months, the FAA has 

received significant public feedback 

regarding remote identification 

requirements, including multiple 

requests for an extension of the 

September 16, 2023, remote 

identification operational compliance 

date. Additionally, the FAA has 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 63519 

received hundreds of inquiries through 

emails, phone calls, and in-person 

questions about the remote 

identification operational compliance 

date. Flight Standards District Offices 

alone are receiving over 10 emails a day 

related to remote identification 

requirements. The FAA UAS Support 

Center has received over 380 inquires 

over the past 60 days. Their primary 

inquiry was about the compliance date 

and the inability to obtain remote 

identification modules. UAS operators 

within the Commercial Drone Alliance, 

the Association of Uncrewed Vehicle 

Systems International, multiple public 

safety agencies such as the Nebraska 

Department of Transportation and the 

Iowa Department of Transportation, as 

well as FAA Lead Participants in the 

BEYOND program, have all indicated 

that they are encountering significant 

difficulty obtaining remote 

identification broadcast modules, which 

would allow continued operation of 

existing unmanned aircraft instead of 

purchasing new standard remote 

identification unmanned aircraft. Those 

difficulties are primarily related to 

availability of broadcast modules, the 

shipping timelines for broadcast 

modules, and the cost of those modules. 

Data from the FAA Drone Zone as of 

August 28, 2023, shows that there are 

261,143 operators flying with a remote 

pilot certificate under 14 CFR part 107 

and 328,372 recreational flyers 

operating under the provisions of 49 

U.S.C. 44809 who are not remote 

identification equipped. The FAA has 

also received feedback from operators, 

including numerous public safety 

agencies, about difficulties in obtaining 

firmware updates to some existing 

models of unmanned aircraft to activate 

standard remote identification 

capabilities and make them remote 

identification compliant. 

As a separate matter, as of August 18, 

2023, the FAA has approved 412 

applications for FRIAs, with 1,206 yet to 

be reviewed. The FAA has endeavored 

to review these FRIA applications as 

quickly as possible but expects a large 

increase in applications as the 

mandatory compliance date approaches. 

This influx is expected to increase the 

application processing backlog and 

impair the ability of recreational 

operators to comply with the rule. The 

FAA anticipates that the supply of 

remote identification broadcast 

modules, resolution of firmware issues, 

and approval of FAA-recognized 

identification areas will increase in the 

next six months. 

Statement of Policy 

The FAA recognizes that it has yet to 

evaluate a majority of submitted 

applications for FAA-recognized 

identification areas. The FAA also 

recognizes the unanticipated issues that 

operators are facing related to the 

availability of remote identification 

broadcast modules. The FAA has 

continued to monitor this situation as 

long as possible before making a 

determination, but with less than a 

month remaining until the operational 

compliance date, the FAA 

acknowledges that for many operators, 

compliance with § 89.105 may prove 

difficult or impossible in the timeframe 

presented. While some operators, such 

as those who are using standard remote 

identification unmanned aircraft or 

those operating in FRIAs that have 

already been approved by the FAA, will 

be able to comply with the rule, the 

cumulative effect of the current state of 

the compliance issues reported to the 

FAA could otherwise cause a cessation 

of numerous UAS operations, which is 

not consistent with the FAA’s intent for 

this rule or its statutory mandate to 

integrate UAS operations into the 

National Airspace System. 

Accordingly, the FAA will exercise its 

discretion in determining how to handle 

any apparent noncompliance, including 

exercising discretion to not take 

enforcement action, if appropriate, for 

any noncompliance that occurs on or 

before March 16, 2024—the six-month 

period following the compliance 

deadline for operators initially 

published in the Remote Identification 

of Unmanned Aircraft final rule, RIN 

2120–AL31. The exercise of 

enforcement discretion herein creates 

no individual right of action and 

establishes no precedent for future 

determinations. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

12, 2023. 

Taneesha Dobyne Marshall, 

Assistant Chief Counsel for Aviation 

Litigation, Federal Aviation Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20074 Filed 9–13–23; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 91 

[Docket No.: FAA–2018–0838; Amdt. No. 

91–352B] 

RIN 2120–AL90 

Extension of the Prohibition Against 

Certain Flights in the Pyongyang Flight 

Information Region (FIR) (ZKKP) 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This action extends the 

prohibition against certain flight 

operations in the Pyongyang Flight 

Information Region (FIR) (ZKKP) by all: 

U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial 

operators; persons exercising the 

privileges of an airman certificate issued 

by the FAA, except when such persons 

are operating U.S.-registered aircraft for 

a foreign air carrier; and operators of 

U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except 

when the operator of such aircraft is a 

foreign air carrier, for an additional five 

years, from September 18, 2023, until 

September 18, 2028. The FAA finds this 

action necessary to address significant 

safety-of-flight risks to U.S. civil 

aviation associated with the Democratic 

People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK’s) 

military capabilities and activities. The 

FAA also republishes the approval 

process and exemption information for 

this Special Federal Aviation Regulation 

(SFAR), consistent with other recently 

published flight prohibition SFARs. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

September 15, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill 

Petrak, Flight Standards Service, 

Federal Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20591; telephone (202) 267–8166; 

email bill.petrak@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Executive Summary 

This action extends the expiration 

date of SFAR No. 79, § 91.1615 of title 

14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 

from September 18, 2023, until 

September 18, 2028. SFAR No. 79 

prohibits certain flight operations in the 

Pyongyang FIR (ZKKP) by all: U.S. air 

carriers; U.S. commercial operators; 

persons exercising the privileges of an 

airman certificate issued by the FAA, 

except when such persons are operating 

U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air 

carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered 

civil aircraft, except when the operator 


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