Duffy says U.S. aircraft certification hurts aviation competitiveness

Boeing says MAX 10 is first certified to 2020 act’s full extent

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized the U.S. aircraft-certification system as hurting America’s global competitiveness. After the Federal Aviation Administration cleared Boeing’s 737 MAX 10, Duffy told CNBC that safety was of the utmost importance.

“It takes Boeing, to certify an aircraft in Europe, about half the time, less than half the time that it does in the U.S. You have China now playing to take over in aviation. We have to certify aircraft more quickly if we’re going to compete as Americans,” Duffy said.

Boeing said in a Tuesday news release that the 737 MAX 10 was the first aircraft certified to the full extent of the 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. The stretched variant of Boeing’s fourth-generation 737 MAX family of narrow-body aircraft is the company’s newest and largest 737 MAX.

The company said the aircraft completed a comprehensive certification process that included almost 1,000 test flights and “extensive safety assessments and design reviews.” The FAA clearance opened the way for first deliveries in the next few months, and the model had more than 1,500 orders.

The MAX 10 introduced an improved angle-of-attack system that Boeing said was set to become standard across the 737 MAX family. Boeing also said the 2020 law mandates enhanced documentation of safety assessments and human-factors evaluations.

“Completing the certification program clears the path for us to deliver a Boeing airplane that will set a new standard in commercial aviation. The 737-10 offers greater capacity, longer range and the best seat economics in its class, a platform that will create more value and opportunities for airlines around the world,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stephanie Pope.

The longer MAX 10 can carry 230 passengers, 12 more than the previous version. Customers include American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines, which said it planned to use the additional space to fit lie-flat seats on some of its 737 MAX 10s.

Regulatory clearance followed a six-year delay from when the aircraft had been scheduled to enter service. The process included an eleventh-hour call over a navigation-system issue that FAA officials eventually determined was not a safety concern.

UPI reported that the certification delay was due to regulators looking very closely at the MAX 10 after fatal crashes of earlier MAX variants in 2018 and 2019. The crashes killed more than 300 people and led to MAX fleets being grounded worldwide for more than a year. The fleets were briefly grounded again in 2024 after an emergency exit blew out on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in Oregon.

MSI previously reported that an FAA review board found a Boeing 737 MAX software glitch did not pose a safety issue. The MAX 10’s later certification came after that determination.