US certifying Boeing’s largest 737 Max after years of delays, AP source says

The U.S. government is set to announce the certification of Boeing’s 737 Max 10 jet Tuesday after years of delays, a Transportation Department official told The Associated Press.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to announce the decision on Tuesday afternoon during a visit to Boeing’s manufacturing plant in Everett, Washington, the official said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the certification ahead of the announcement.

The 737 Max 10, which can have up to 230 seats, was introduced at the Paris air show in 2017 to help Boeing compete with rival Airbus. But a series of technical and safety-related concerns slowed the certification of the largest version of Boeing’s 737 Max.

FAA authorization would clear the way for Boeing to begin delivering the Max 10 to airline customers. The company has said it expects to make the first deliveries in 2027.

Certification of the Max 10 would represent another milestone in Boeing’s work to restore its reputation and financial footing. The single-aisle aircraft is intended to compete with Airbus’s A321neo model family, which entered service in 2017. The largest A321neo can accommodate more seats and travel a greater distance without refueling than the Max 10.

But the new Boeing model is designed to carry more people while using less fuel than older aircraft, making it an attractive option for airlines that have seen jet fuel costs balloon during the U.S. war with Iran.

Boeing has dealt with years of safety, quality and production challenges — notably in the aftermath of two deadly crashes involving the smaller Max 8 that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, as well as a 2024 incident in which a panel flew off of an Alaska Airlines Max 9 midflight.

Recently, a 737 Max 8 survived an extreme dive that subjected the plane to forces well beyond what it was designed to handle when officials said the copilot on a FlyDubai flight tried to hijack the plane and crash it. A group of passengers and pilots were able to restrain the copilot and safely land the plane in Saudi Arabia.

Since the crashes off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia, the FAA overhauled how it certifies Boeing aircraft.

But over the past 18 months, the FAA has been gradually reducing restrictions on Boeing by increasing the limit on how many planes it can produce. And then in July, the FAA said Boeing would again be allowed to take responsibility for certifying all of its 737 Max and 787 planes.

The FAA’s long-delayed approval would complete Boeing’s lineup of four 737 Max models. The agency cleared the smaller Boeing Max 7 for airline operations in August.