According to an aspect of the invention, a method of flight initiation proximity warning for an autonomous vehicle is provided. A flight initiation request is detected at a processing system of the autonomous vehicle. A preflight proximity scan is performed for any obstacles within a predetermined distance from the autonomous vehicle based on the flight initiation request. An alert is sent to a control station based on detecting at least one obstacle within the predetermined distance. Flight initiation of the autonomous vehicle is inhibited until an acknowledgement of the alert is received at the processing system of the autonomous vehicle.