Supersonic commercial flight coming back soon

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is taking a pivotal step toward enabling civil supersonic flights over the continental United States. Thanks to massive innovations in supersonic technology, it will be possible to safely operate these innovative aircraft without a sonic boom. When operational, next-gen supersonic planes will drastically reduce travel times–enabling faster movement of people and goods.

Today’s proposed rule sets a noise-based certification standard for supersonic aircraft. In addition to this first rule, the FAA plans to propose another rule later this year, establishing landing and takeoff noise standards for supersonic aircraft.

Together, these actions will give manufacturers the guidance they need to finalize their designs and bring these exciting innovations online.

“Restoring supersonic flight over land isn’t just about speed, it's about unleashing American innovation and ushering in a Golden Age of Travel,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership , we are working at lightning speed to safely enable the next quantum leap in aviation technology and deliver an exciting new way to fly to the American flying public.”

“Advances in aerospace engineering, materials science, noise reduction, and new operational concepts will eliminate the old sonic boom,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “This means we can ultimately repeal the ban from the 1970s on supersonic flight over U.S. territory while minimizing noise impacts to residents in communities along the route and near airports.”

“This is how America wins—by moving at the speed of our innovators,” said Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios. “For too long, outdated rules held back our engineers and manufacturers. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are clearing the runway for supersonic flight, strengthening our industrial base, creating high-skilled jobs, and ensuring the future of aviation is invented and built in America. American ingenuity broke the sound barrier once before, and today’s action ensures it will define the new Golden Age of Aviation.”

The FAA aims to finalize both rules by mid-2027.

Additional Information:

Aircraft flying at supersonic speeds–Mach 1 and above–are traveling approximately 770+ miles per hour. Commercial airlines generally fly between 550 and 600 miles per hour.

One key to enabling supersonic travel is reducing the noise experienced by sonic booms. One means of achieving this is using a flight technique called Mach cutoff where the aircraft design, atmospheric conditions, speed, and altitude work in combination to ensure the sonic boom bends and refracts back into the atmosphere, significantly reducing its ground-level impact.

The FAA is collaborating with the International Civil Aviation Organization, NASA, Industry, and academic institutions and applying their research to inform supersonic noise standards.

Executive Order 14304 Leading the World in Supersonic Flight also calls for the FAA to secure aviation safety agreements with foreign aviation authorities for the safe international operation of supersonic aircraft.

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Only elon will be able to afford it

Hersey Hawkins

Doesn't it take a really long time to get a new plane approved ?

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Doesn't it take a really long time to get a new plane approved ?

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The US airlines' workhorse carrier (the 737) operates on a 1968 platform.

Not much time to join the Mile High club.

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It's not technology holding back supersonic flight for the masses. It's cost. California's bullet train to nowhere will be a reality before mass supersonic airline travel. You'll see some supersonic bizjets (and not many) but nothing like a 737 that breaks Mach 1.

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Cali's train will never be built, so there is no way your supposition can be right. Even if the present supersonic techs fail, something else will come along.

Some of the innovations in that led to "super cruise" (supersonic cruising speeds) in the F-22 will also allow supersonic airliners to have good fuel efficiency, thus ticket prices will come down from the Concorde, which was both horribly inefficient and carried very few passengers.

Better fuel economics (vs Concorde) + more passengers + being able to turn crews and planes on transoceanic routes 2x per day instead of 1x will make it possible for the less well-heeled among us.

FTR, type certification on the Boeing Dreamliner took 8 years. If we can manage to replace some FAA bureaucrats with AI, who knows how fast it might get done.

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Doesn't it take a really long time to get a new plane approved ?

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The leader in this space right now is is a company called Boom Technology. They hope to have full scale model test fights by 2028 but major airlines (United and American) are already lined up with purchase agreements. Its actually further along as far as possible commercial flights than I thought. "Soon" is relative but possibly in the next 5-10 years we could see a return to commercial super sonic flight.

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He is talking about using rockets for international flights...which will run into the same sonic boom over land issues.

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What about his supersonic tunnels?

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What about his supersonic tunnels?

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The Hyperloop?....he just published the white paper on that dumbass idea . 3rd parties raised the money to chase his concept. His Boring Company was only partial involved in some of the early planning. Building hundreds of miles of pressurized steel tubing required to maintain a near-vacuum proved economically unfeasible...no shite sherlock