The FAA’s approval for six television and motion picture companies to use drones as flying cameras doesn’t open the floodgates to all the other businesses eager to use them to photograph weddings, dust crops or deliver packages. But it sets the stage for more pro-drone decisions to follow, after years of the agency insisting that just about all commercial use of drones was illegal.

“This is the first step to allowing the film and TV industry to use unmanned aerial systems in our nation’s airspace, and it’s a milestone in the wider effort to allow unmanned aircraft for many different types of commercial use,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a call with reporters.

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“As of today, companies in any industry … have a model for seeking approval from the DOT,” he added.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has said for months that allowing commercial drones into the skies will take place in stages. Thursday’s announcement meshed with that idea, even though the agency still needs to write the complete set of rules needed to safely permit drones to share airspace with manned planes and helicopters. A rule on small drones is expected sometime this fall, though its effects aren’t likely to be felt for at least a year.

The move is a significant victory for the drone industry and offers a path to follow for any company interested in manufacturing or operating drones. The process took about 120 days, said former Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, now head of the Motion Picture Association of America, which used its considerable heft to push the exemptions over the finish line.

“It doesn’t open the door to anyone other than the applicants that are getting the approval, but it establishes a timeline,” said attorney Greg Cirillo, chairman of the aviation practice at Wiley Rein.

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“People can now look and say — we know when they filed, we know they got their approval,” Cirillo said. “And they can make a decision. Anyone who’s looking to put [drones] to use is thinking, do I file for an exemption or do I wait for the rules?”

During a conference call with reporters Thursday afternoon, Huerta encouraged more companies to turn in exemption petitions, and called on industry trade groups to get involved with facilitating their applications. That suggests the agency may grant exemptions in rounds, grouping them among similar uses or interests as it did Thursday.

“This process opens up a whole new avenue for companies and organizations,” Huerta said. “In addition, it’s a major step forward in our plan for safe and staged integration.”

So far, about 40 entities, beyond the ones approved Thursday, have petitioned to be exempted from the rule — a list of disparate interests that runs the gamut of industries and includes some power players.

The biggest media splash of any filer was probably made by retailer Amazon, which wants to create “Prime Air,” its blue-sky vision of package delivery via drones.

And Warren Buffett’s BNSF Railway Co. wants an exemption so it can keep tabs on its railroads and operations. Yamaha Motors has also filed for an exemption for use of its RMAX agricultural drone.

And the list goes on: Companies have filed for exemptions to use drones for mapping and surveying as well as a conglomerate of media companies that want to use them for news photography. A coalition of educational interests and local governments includes the city of Roswell, N.M., which wants to create instructional opportunities related to drones.

But Thursday’s excitement centered on the entertainment industry and the implicit win for both drone backers and the MPAA.

Dodd took a victory lap Thursday, saying the FAA’s decision will give filmmakers the opportunity to create “shots we could only imagine just a few years ago,” and pointing out that some movies, such as “Skyfall,” already have included drone scenes filmed overseas. He also talked up the jobs angle, suggesting that approving drone use creates a climate that “further encourages more movie and TV production in the U.S.”

The move got a measured response from the Air Line Pilots Association, which has expressed concern about the safety of drones sharing the airspace with commercial planes. The union noted that it doesn’t flatly oppose drones “as long as these aircraft operations are subject to safety standards that provide for a level of safety equivalent to all other flight operations.”

“ALPA provided comments to the Federal Aviation Administration in response to these petitions with the goal of insuring that these operations can be conducted safely without adding risk to the National Airspace System,” ALPA said. Indeed, the FAA’s docket is littered with ALPA’s responses to exemption requests.

ALPA said it’s “encouraged” that the agency is “moving cautiously and requiring controls for these … operations.”

Although the six companies approved Thursday will be able to operate anywhere in the nation — not just Hollywood — they must do so under conditions that include using a licensed pilot, with drones no bigger than 55 pounds, flying no higher than 400 feet and always within line of sight. In addition, the drones can only be used above a closed production set.