The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is not considering lifting Boeing’s production cap of thirty-eight B737 MAX aircraft per month, according to acting administrator Chris Rocheleau.
Speaking with reporters after a US House Hearing, Rocheleau said 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 for individual planes, Reuters reported. Boeing is currently allowed to produce seven B787s per month and is looking to increase this to ten.
Last week, Boeing’s chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, said that the company was “pretty confident” that it could increase the production of the MAX Family jet to 42 a month, adding that subsequent rate increases were in the works and could average increments of five aircraft a month every six months.
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.
Separately, the FAA is looking to extend by three years the Organization Designation Authorization programme, which allows Boeing to perform some tasks on the agency’s behalf, like inspections and approving repairs. In May 2022, the FAA renewed the programme for three years rather than five as the company faced increased scrutiny following the crashes of two B737-8s in 2018 and 2019.
Reuters reported that before making the decision to again extend the programme, the FAA had “closely monitored specific criteria and saw improvements in most areas,” and that it “will continue to closely monitor Boeing’s performance throughout its renewal period.”
