WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed new noise standards for supersonic aircraft, a regulatory step that could eventually lift a decades-old ban on overland supersonic flights and pave the way for a new generation of high-speed commercial air travel in the United States.
The proposal establishes a noise-based certification framework for supersonic aircraft and is intended to give manufacturers guidance as they finalize designs for next-generation aircraft, the U.S. Department of Transportation said.
The FAA plans to issue a second rule later this year covering landing and takeoff noise standards, with both regulations targeted for completion by mid-2027.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said advances in aerospace engineering and noise reduction technologies could eventually allow regulators to repeal the overland supersonic flight ban enacted in the 1970s while minimizing impacts on communities.
The move could reshape long-haul air travel by permitting aircraft capable of flying at more than Mach 1, or roughly 770 miles per hour, significantly faster than conventional commercial jets, which typically cruise between 550 and 600 miles per hour.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said restoring supersonic flight over land would support innovation in the aviation sector and create new travel options for passengers. “[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.”
The agency said one technology under consideration is “Mach cutoff,” a flight technique that combines aircraft design, altitude, speed and atmospheric conditions to refract sonic booms back into the atmosphere, reducing their effects at ground level.
The FAA is developing the standards in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, industry groups and academic institutions.
The regulatory effort also aligns with Executive Order 14304, which directs the FAA to pursue international aviation agreements to support the global operation of supersonic aircraft.
The proposal represents one of the most significant federal efforts in decades to revive commercial supersonic travel, a market that has remained dormant since the retirement of the Concorde and longstanding restrictions on overland supersonic operations.
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