FAA Proposes Quiet Supersonic Flights Over US Cities

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a new rule on June 30, 2026, that would lift the 53-year ban on commercial supersonic flights over the United States. This proposed change aims to enable the return of supersonic airliners, contingent on their ability to significantly reduce the ground-level impact of sonic booms. The original ban was implemented in 1973 after US military tests in the 1960s involving supersonic flights over cities like Oklahoma City, Chicago, and St. Louis caused disturbances.

The Trump administration had previously supported the repeal of this ban, envisioning supersonic airliners that could operate without disruptive sonic booms. The FAA's current rulemaking action aligns with an executive order issued by President Trump on June 6, 2025. The proposed regulation would replace the existing prohibition with an interim "noise-based" certification standard. This standard mandates that any sonic boom overpressure measured at the surface must remain below 0.11 pounds per square foot.

This proposed standard is informed by the advancements made by Boom Supersonic, a startup based in Colorado. Boom Supersonic has demonstrated the capability for quieter Mach cutoff flights with its XB-1 aircraft. Their approach involves utilizing specific atmospheric conditions and flying at higher altitudes just beyond supersonic speeds. This technique allows the aircraft's shockwaves to be refracted upward into the atmosphere, preventing them from reaching the ground as a disruptive sonic boom.