With the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) adopting its proposed fuel efficiency rules for certain subsonic jet aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of more than 5,700 kilograms (12,566 pounds), this could spell the end for the production of the Boeing 767F freighter. The new standards will also apply to propeller-driven aircraft with an MTOW greater than 8,618 kg (18,999 lbs).

The FAA’s final rule was published on February 16, 2024, with an effective date of April 16. According to the directive, the new fuel efficiency standards would apply to aircraft that received their original type certification (TC) on or after January 1, 2021, were manufactured after January 1, 2028, or were certified before 2021, but a modification was made that would affect the aircraft’s emissions after January 1, 2023.

On June 15, 2022, the regulator published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), receiving 62 comments on the proposal from various parties, including Airbus, Boeing, ATR, Embraer, Gulfstream, General Electric (GE), as well as airlines’ representatives.

Providing background on the ruling, the FAA said that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and its International Aviation and Climate
Change (GIACC) developed a program to reduce aviation’s impact on the climate in 2009. The Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), part of the ICAO, agreed to the new emissions standard in February 2016, with the ICAO adopting the standard in March 2017.

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* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)