The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed that it will not lift the production cap of thirty-eight B737 MAX aircraft per month, as communicated by acting administrator Chris Rocheleau.
Rocheleau indicated that the FAA will not discuss altering its policy of inspecting all MAX and B787 models before issuing airworthiness certificates.
Boeing’s CEO, Kelly Ortberg, expressed confidence that the company could increase B737 MAX production to 42 jets per month, with plans for further incremental increases.
This production cap was initially imposed due to a mid-air emergency involving an Alaska Airlines B737-9, which highlighted safety concerns related to missing aircraft components.
The FAA is also considering a three-year extension of the Organization Designation Authorization programme, allowing Boeing to perform certain inspections, following improvements in its performance monitoring.
The FAA shared:“The agency was not considering lifting the cap at this time or discussing a change to its policy of inspecting all MAX and B787 jets produced by the planemaker before issuing airworthiness certificates.”
“Boeing is currently allowed to produce seven B787s per month and is looking to increase this to ten. We’re pretty confident that we could increase the production of the MAX Family jet to 42 a month. The FAA imposed the current cap after a January 2024 mid-air emergency involving a new Alaska Airlines B737-9, which was missing four key bolts. The FAA had closely monitored specific criteria and saw improvements in most areas.”
