by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 8:35 AM ET, Mon July 20, 2026
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it will allow airworthiness certificates to all 737 MAX and 787 aircraft beginning this week, which is a big milestone for the company beleaguered by a large backlog of ordered planes and a remarkable number of new aircraft orders this week.
According to Reuters, the FAA originally revoked Boeing’s ability to approve individual MAX aircraft in 2019 after two fatal crashes, and for Boeing 787 aircraft in 2022 due to issues with production quality.
The FAA allowed Boeing to resume issuing airworthiness certificates for the two aircraft types on alternating weeks as a test for the manufacturer.
"During the past eight months, the FAA has seen comparable production quality findings when Boeing issued airworthiness certificates and when the FAA issued them," said the FAA, which noted that it will continue to inspect, audit and monitor Boeing's production system.
The new allowance from the FAA comes at the right time for Boeing: several new aircraft orders were announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom.
Philippine Airlines cemented an order for up to 20 787 Dreamliner jets, with the option to purchase five more in the future. Riyadh Air announced a growth plan that includes 28 additional 787 Dreamliner jets, expanding on a 2023 order.
Aviation Capital Group, which is a full-service aircraft asset manager, has signed an agreement with Japanese air carrier Skymark Airlines to lease seven Boeing 737-10 aircraft, which is the manufacturer’s newest 737 variant.
SMBC Aviation Capital also announced that it has ordered 100 737 MAX aircraft, including 60 737-10 and 40 737-8 jets.
A recently released report by Boeing projects the world’s commercial airplane fleet will grow nearly 80% over the next 20 years, to over 50,000 airplanes by 2045. Its commercial outlook projects the sector will need almost 44,000 new aircraft in both commercial and air cargo. Boeing also projects a growth in demand for over 2.4 million new commercial aviation professionals.
"Airlines are adapting quickly to manage near-term industry constraints while demand for air travel remains resilient," said Brad McMullen, Boeing senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing. "That demand is driving the need to grow and modernize the global fleet, underscoring the importance of new, fuel-efficient airplanes that will play an increasingly vital role in connecting people and economies around the world."
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