FAA Restores Boeing's Certification Authority for 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner Aircraft

The Federal Aviation Administration has announced it will allow Boeing to resume certifying the airworthiness of some newly manufactured aircraft, signaling growing confidence in the company's operational improvements.

According to Friday's announcement, Boeing will now issue airworthiness certificates for newly produced 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner aircraft on alternating weeks, with FAA officials conducting the inspections during intervening weeks.

This authority had previously been revoked from Boeing following fatal crashes and various production and safety issues involving their aircraft.

"Safety drives everything we do, and the FAA will only allow this step forward because we are confident it can be done safely," stated the agency. "The FAA will continue to maintain direct and rigorous oversight of Boeing's production processes."

The agency explained that restoring this certification authority to Boeing enables FAA inspectors to "focus additional surveillance in the production process."

This decision represents a milestone in Boeing's recovery efforts following the deadly MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which led to a prolonged grounding of the aircraft and congressional investigations that also criticized the FAA for its overly close relationship with the manufacturer.

While the FAA permitted the MAX to return to service in November 2020, the aircraft faced renewed scrutiny after a January 2024 incident where an Alaska Airlines jet was forced to make an emergency landing when a window panel blew out during flight.

The FAA had initially halted Boeing's ability to issue airworthiness certificates for the 737 MAX in 2019, and subsequently removed the same authority for the 787 in 2022 due to quality control issues in production.

Aviation industry experts have positively received Kelly Ortberg, the aviation executive who became Boeing's CEO in August 2024. Ortberg has acknowledged that improving company culture remains an ongoing process but indicated that sufficient progress has been made to request an increase in MAX production later this year.

Boeing shares rose 3.2 percent during morning trading on Friday following this announcement.