FAA takes drone registration offline for maintenance ahead of surge in demand
The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily suspended the registration of small drones, citing reports of site performance issues it received from a few users.
The move by the agency -- made during the overnight hours -- comes as completed registrations have soared to over 45,000 since it started offering the facility from Monday afternoon.
The maintenance is being done ahead of an expected surge in demand on Christmas Day. The FAA cited industry estimates that forecast that as many as 400,000 small drones, also known as small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), could be sold during the holidays.
The agency said the registration site would be taken offline on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday night at 9.00 p.m. Eastern time. "We expect to resume service around 6 a.m on Wednesday and Thursday," it said in a statement late Tuesday.
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