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FAA restores Boeing certification authority for some 737 MAX, 787

Two Boeing jets, a 737 MAX and a 787 Dreamliner, on a factory flight line under clear skies, illustrating FAA airworthiness certificates.
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4 min read

The Federal Aviation Administration will restore limited airworthiness certification authority to Boeing for certain 737 MAX and 787 aircraft beginning September 29, 2025. The move comes after a multi-year pause triggered by two MAX crashes and later 787 production issues, and two weeks after the FAA proposed $3.1 million in civil penalties for safety violations recorded between September 2023 and February 2024. Under the new approach, Boeing and FAA inspectors will issue airworthiness certificates on alternating weeks while the agency concentrates additional surveillance on key production steps.

Key points

  • Why it matters: The alternating-week model could speed deliveries while keeping direct federal oversight in place.
  • Travel impact: Airlines awaiting 737 MAX and 787 deliveries may see improved scheduling reliability if output stabilizes.
  • What's next: The FAA says it will maintain rigorous production oversight and can adjust delegation if standards slip.
  • The FAA renewed Boeing's ODA for three years effective June 1, 2025.
  • Proposed $3.1 million fines address hundreds of quality-system violations through February 2024.

Snapshot

Airworthiness certificates confirm a specific aircraft is safe to operate. Since 2019 for the MAX and 2022 for the 787, the FAA had retained direct sign-off authority due to safety and quality problems. Beginning September 29, Boeing regains a limited ability to issue those certificates, but only within an alternating-weeks structure designed to keep federal inspectors embedded and focused on higher-risk stages of production. The agency frames the change as a way to reallocate its resources to "additional surveillance," while reinforcing safety culture expectations and whistleblower protections on the factory floor. The delegation does not signal an end to scrutiny; rather, it is a procedural adjustment after what the FAA describes as a thorough review of Boeing's current production quality.

Background

The FAA first halted Boeing's self-certification on 737 MAX aircraft in 2019 after two fatal crashes overseas. Separate production quality issues later cost Boeing its authority to issue final airworthiness certificates on the 787 Dreamliner in 2022. On September 12, 2025, the FAA proposed $3,139,319 in fines tied to violations between September 2023 and February 2024, a period that includes the January 5, 2024 Alaska Airlines MAX 9 door-plug blowout. In parallel, the FAA renewed Boeing's Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) for three years effective June 1, 2025, setting the legal framework for limited delegation. Industry reporting indicates the FAA continues to cap MAX production, reinforcing that broader constraints and audits remain in effect even as the authority to issue some airworthiness certificates returns.

Latest developments

FAA resumes limited delegation of airworthiness certificates

Starting September 29, 2025, the FAA will allow Boeing to issue airworthiness certificates for some 737 MAX and 787 jets, with the company and the agency alternating weeks on approvals. The FAA says this step follows a thorough review of Boeing's production quality and is intended to free federal inspectors to target additional surveillance across the assembly flow. The agency also emphasized continued direct oversight of Boeing's safety culture, including protections to ensure employees can report issues without fear of retaliation. The limited delegation operates alongside existing guardrails, including a production-rate cap on the MAX reported by major outlets, signaling that regulators are not loosening broader controls until sustained quality improvement is demonstrated.

Analysis

For airlines and travelers, the narrow restoration of Boeing's certification authority matters less for symbolism than for throughput. Alternating-week sign-offs could help smooth end-of-line bottlenecks, particularly for carriers with fleets hinging on MAX and 787 deliveries, but any material schedule improvement still depends on upstream quality metrics. The FAA's timing, just after proposing new fines, underscores a carrot-and-stick posture: permit limited procedural normalization while maintaining leverage through audits, penalties, and rate caps. Practically, airlines should plan for gradual, not immediate, delivery stabilization. Less rework at the factory and more predictable inspections would translate to firmer induction dates for route planning and crew training. However, the alternating model also makes it easy for the FAA to recalibrate or re-assume full certification if quality backslides. Travelers are unlikely to see day-to-day differences right away, but steadier deliveries over the next few quarters could relieve aircraft shortages that ripple into schedules and fares.

Final thoughts

The FAA's decision carefully balances production efficiency with oversight, signaling conditional trust without surrendering control. If Boeing can demonstrate sustained quality gains under the alternating-week system, airlines may finally get a more reliable pipeline of 737 MAX and 787 deliveries. For travelers, the potential benefit is indirect but real: more aircraft, more schedule stability, and fewer last-minute equipment swaps. The outcome hinges on execution inside the factories and continued regulatory vigilance as the FAA restores Boeing certification authority.

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