Boeing 737 MAX 10 certified by US regulators

US regulators have given final approval to the Boeing 737 MAX 10, certifying the largest aircraft in the MAX family and clearing a key step toward deliveries expected in 2027.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a certificate confirming that the aircraft “complies with all applicable design and safety requirements,” a Department of Transportation press release said.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the decision followed a review of the aircraft’s design and safety requirements. “We will continue to hold Boeing to the highest safety standards as the company begins production of the 737 MAX-10,” he said.

Boeing said it carried out more than 2,000 hours of flight testing and supplied tens of thousands of pages of documentation. Chris Payne, general manager for 737 airplane development programs, said the testing campaign validated every system.

The approval follows US certification of the 737 MAX 7 in August. Boeing first launched the MAX 10 at the 2017 Paris Air Show and had previously aimed for deliveries in 2020, then 2023 after the aircraft’s first flight in June 2021.

US regulators have scrutinized Boeing designs after two MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people, and after a January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight in which a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight.

Boeing has added a MAX production line in Everett, Washington, supplementing assembly in Renton, Washington. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in September that he expected 737 MAX output to rise to 52 aircraft a month in 2027, from the current FAA-authorized level of 47.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNBC that safety was paramount but said the United States needed to certify aircraft more quickly to compete. Boeing shares finished down 0.5 percent.