US Federal Aviation Administration certifies Boeing 737 MAX 10

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday announced that it has certified the Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft after several years of delay.

The FAA highlighted the aircraft’s novel safety features and reduced fuel consumption and added that the certification allows foreign and domestic airlines to begin taking delivery of the new planes.

The variant represents more than 30% of the 737 MAX order book. Just over 1,500 aircraft have been ordered from more than 30 customers, the company said.

The 737 MAX 10 is now certified for service

In a statement released today, the FAA described the announcement as a “major win for American manufacturing.” Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said: “After extensive safety reviews – including thousands of hours of test flights – the team at the FAA is ready to approve this critical aircraft for sale. This is a major win for American manufacturing and our nation’s status as a global aviation powerhouse. We invented flight, we pioneered air travel, and we are going to continue leading the way in aviation safety and innovation.”

The aircraft’s certification follows years of scrutiny. The plane was first unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 2017, and was due to enter service in 2020. However, the process was stalled by extensive regulatory reviews.

Two major accidents involving the 737 MAX 8 in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people led to a review of safety certification standards. The 737 MAX aircraft type – of which only the -8 and -9 variants were in service – was grounded for nearly two years.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said: “The FAA’s decision follows a thorough 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 continued.

Boeing also welcomed the announcement. Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said that everyone should “feel proud of this accomplishment as it reflects years of hard work and dedication from across our company.”

The 737 MAX 10 has followed a rocky path to certification

In its statement on Tuesday, Boeing highlighted that the type’s approval “included extensive human factors reviews, design assurance reviews and system safety analyses in coordination with the FAA.” It added that the certification followed considerable documentation, hours of formal meetings, and extensive flight and ground testing.

The manufacturer said it completed certification testing for the jet at the end of July.

Boeing has had to fix several elements on the aircraft over the years. This included changes to the enhanced flight crew alerting program, including fixes to the angle-of-attack sensor and the ability to override stall warnings and overspeed alerts. Faulty data from the AoA sensors was a factor in both of the fatal MAX 8 accidents.

In December 2025, the FAA announced it was reviewing Boeing’s proposed changes.

Then, last month, the FAA threatened to delay certification after discovering a potential software glitch that could cause the automated navigation feature to fail during landing. The regulator said that pending a solution, it would not grant the 737 MAX 10 its type certification.

The 737 MAX family is now fully certified

In August, Boeing was granted approval to begin deliveries of the smallest member of the MAX family, the -7. Now, with the -10 certified, the entire product range of the model has been certified by the FAA.

The MAX 10 is the manufacturer’s largest narrowbody jet currently in production. It can seat up to 210 passengers and has a range of 3,100 nautical miles (5,740 km).

Boeing has received 1,555 orders from more than 30 customers. United Airlines has the largest commitment for the type with 167 firm orders. The company previously said it did not expect deliveries to begin until at least summer next year.