The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified Boeing's 737-10, the largest member of the 737 MAX family, Boeing announced on Tuesday, October 20, at Everett, Washington, according to Airways Magazine. The FAA issued an amended type certificate for the aircraft, and Boeing said it expects to begin deliveries in the coming months. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, according to CAPA's report of the FAA announcement: "After extensive safety reviews — including thousands of hours of test flights — the team at the FAA is ready to approve this critical aircraft for sale."

The certification unlocks a large order book. Boeing lists 1,555 orders from more than 30 customers, and the variant accounts for more than 30% of unfilled 737 MAX orders, Airways Magazine reported. The 737-10 is the last of the four MAX variants to win type certification, following the smaller MAX 7 in August 2026, according to Financial News. The jet first flew on June 18, 2021, when Boeing was targeting entry into service in 2023, and Boeing had originally planned to deliver it from 2020 — a timetable that slipped through years of design review and safety assessment.

Boeing said the certification programme involved nearly 1,000 test flights, more than 2,000 flight hours and 1,000 ground-test hours. The aircraft typically seats 185 to 210 passengers in two classes, with a maximum of 230 seats and a range of up to 3,100 nautical miles (about 5,740 km). It introduces an enhanced angle-of-attack system that detects faulty sensor readings and alerts pilots on their flight displays; Boeing said the system will become standard across the MAX family. CAPA reported the 737 MAX 10 is the first commercial aircraft certified to the full extent of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act of 2020.

A type certificate covers an aircraft's design; manufacturing approval and the airworthiness certificate each delivered aircraft needs are separate steps, Airways Magazine noted, and Boeing's announcement did not name the first recipient or an exact handover date. The long wait has already cost airlines: United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby said the carrier had waited so long for the MAX 10 that lie-flat seats ordered for the aircraft are sitting unused in a warehouse, CNBC reported via Financial News. Sources: Boeing announcement via Airways Magazine; FAA statement via CAPA — Centre for Aviation; Financial News (CNBC).