Supersonic Flight Returning To US After Half-Century Ban

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Topline

The Trump administration has taken an important step in replacing a five-decades-old ban on supersonic flight over U.S. land, claiming technological advances now make it possible to fly faster than the speed of sound without the ear-shattering boom.

A 2016 photo of Blake Scholl and Joe Wilding, two of three co-founders of Boom Supersonic, standing in front of an early model at the company’s hangar in Centennial, Colorado. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson)

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Key Facts

The Department of Transportation intends to replace the ban on overland supersonic flight with a noise limit, allowing aircraft to fly faster than Mach 1 over land as long as the resulting noise stays below a set level, according to a notice published Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the Federal Register.

This follows an executive order President Donald Trump issued in June 2025 directing the FAA to repeal its “prohibition on overland supersonic flight … establish an interim noise-based-certification standard … and remove additional regulatory barriers that hinder the advancement of supersonic aviation technology in the United States.”

Since 1973, the FAA has prohibited civil aircraft from exceeding Mach 1 over U.S. land to prevent disruptive sonic booms.

The FAA hopes to finalize both rules by mid-2027, according to the notice.

Crucial Quote

Technological advances “will eliminate the old sonic boom,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement. “This means we can ultimately repeal the ban from the 1970s on supersonic flight over U.S. territory while minimizing noise impacts to residents in communities along the route and near airports.”

Why Were Planes Banned From Supersonic Speed While Flying Over Land?

The primary reason was public opposition to loud sonic booms. In the 1960s, a plane flying faster than the speed of sound—about 660 mph at high altitudes—created shock waves that traveled to the ground and reached human ears as a loud gunshot-like crack or thunder-like boom. Tests during that decade, including the Oklahoma City sonic boom experiments, found repeated booms broke windows, damaged property and generated thousands of public complaints. In its 1973 ruling, the FAA stated that due to the limits of technology at that time, “a prohibition was needed to protect the public from sonic boom … by preventing operations of a civil aircraft at a true flight Mach number greater than 1.” Several years later, Air France and British Airways introduced Concorde, and were allowed to serve New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport as long as flights remained subsonic over U.S. land. Notably, “the prestigious London-New York service was the only truly profitable [Concorde] route, supported by high-powered business and celebrity travel,” wrote a former British Airways network planner for Forbes in 2021.

What Companies Are Developing Supersonic Planes Today?

Several U.S. companies are working on a new generation of luxurious supersonic passenger aircraft with much quieter sonic booms and improved fuel efficiency. In particular, Colorado-headquartered Boom Supersonic says it has pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines and Japan Airlines for its Overture jets, which will carry 60-80 passengers. Atlanta-based Spike Aerospace is developing smaller Diplomat jets for up to 18 passengers. Both companies’ websites tout future transatlantic flights in under four hours.