FAA Adopts Carbon Limits For Airliners

The FAA has issued a final rule that will require most larger aircraft built after Jan. 1, 2028, to meet new efficiency standards designed to reduce their carbon emissions per passenger mile. The new rule will cover all subsonic jets with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 12,500 pounds and turboprops with an MTOW of 19,000 pounds. The new rules will bring the U.S. in line with ICAO standards and are part of the U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan. “We are taking a large step forward to ensure the manufacture of more fuel-efficient airplanes, reduce carbon pollution, and reach our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. The rule sets fuel efficiency limits based on calculations of the planes' size vs. fuel burn.

The FAA says the rule covers everything from a Citation to a 787 and includes turboprops like Viking Q400s and ATR42s. It will not be applied retroactively to aircraft built before Jan. 1, 2028, but it may end production of one of the longest-running designs currently being built. It's been years since production of passenger versions of the Boeing 767 have been built but the freight version is still being built, more than 40 years after the type went into service. FedEx and UPS have a total of 37 of the freighters on order but Boeing says orders beyond 2028 are thought to be minimal. The plane would have to get new engines to carry on, and Boeing has already hinted at building a freight version of the much more efficient 787.