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FAA Restores Boeing Certification Power
FAA restores limited Boeing certification authority to speed deliveries while keeping strict oversight.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will allow Boeing to issue limited airworthiness certificates for select 737 MAX and 787 aircraft beginning September 30, 2025, restoring part of a delegation system that had been suspended after earlier safety crises. The move is designed to streamline handovers to airlines while keeping FAA oversight in place.
Boeing must meet strict compliance and quality requirements under the arrangement, the FAA stressed, and oversight will include audits and the ability to rescind delegated authority if standards slip. The company will only be able to certify certain completed airplanes — not all types or production lines — as the agency phases the program back in.
Boeing certification: cautious return of delegated power
Industry observers say the change could ease delivery backlogs for carriers waiting on 737 MAX and 787 jets, but it is explicitly limited and conditional. The FAA framed the decision as a balance: reduce administrative bottlenecks while forcing Boeing to maintain higher internal controls and transparency.
- What changes: Boeing certification authority is limited to specific 737 MAX and 787 airframes starting Sept. 30, 2025, under strict FAA oversight.
The delegation system being partially restored previously allowed manufacturers to issue airworthiness certificates under FAA rules; that authority was curtailed after incidents that prompted a review of how much responsibility OEMs should hold. Now, the FAA says it will rebuild a controlled, monitored version of that system.
For airlines, the immediate upside is potentially faster acceptance and entry-into-service for new aircraft. For regulators and the flying public, the key test will be whether the FAA’s monitoring catches workmanship or compliance issues quickly enough to prevent safety risks.
Expect more details from both agencies and Boeing in the coming weeks about which specific 737 MAX and 787 variants are eligible and the exact compliance metrics Boeing must meet to keep the authority.
