FAA Plans to Accelerate Commercial Aircraft Certification and Align with EU Regulatory Standards
Claire Weston
The FAA proposed rule changes to align parts of its airworthiness standards with EASA, aiming to cut certification cost and time for Boeing, Airbus, and other manufacturers — a move that could reduce duplicated work across the Atlantic.
What is actually changing?
The FAA wants to reduce the number of exemptions, special conditions, and equivalent-safety findings required during certification. This means → instead of filing case-by-case exceptions for every new aircraft model, the goal is to make more requirements standard across both regulators.
Reuters first reported this direction in September; the current proposal is the first formal step.
In plain terms = manufacturers used to sit two separate exams — one American, one European. The FAA now wants to make the questions match, so passing once is enough.
Why now? What is driving this?
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford had already launched certification reform and disclosed multiple streamlining projects with industry.
Certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 is in its final stages. Boeing originally planned to certify the MAX 7 by 2022, but repeated issues have pushed the timeline back. This reflects how bottlenecks in the current system directly delay aircraft deliveries.
EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet said publicly that clearing the MAX 10 for service is a priority — both regulators are signaling "speed up."
What does this mean for manufacturers?
The beneficiaries include Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, and Bombardier — the four major commercial-aircraft makers operating across the Atlantic.
This means → if the proposal takes effect, duplicate testing and paperwork for simultaneous US-EU certification should shrink, potentially compressing timelines.
The FAA stressed that streamlining will maintain or raise existing safety standards — not lower the bar, but remove the redundant bar.
How far away is implementation?
The proposal is now in the public-comment phase; it must clear that process and take final effect before any rules change.
In plain terms = the direction is set, but the "merged exam" has not started yet — whether certification timelines actually shorten can only be verified once the rules are live.
The FAA and EASA had already pledged closer cooperation on safety and certification; this proposal is the first concrete move on that commitment.
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