FAA certifies Boeing 737 Max 7 after years of delays

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted Boeing an amended type certificate for the 737-7, clearing the smallest member of the 737 Max family for commercial service after a certification effort that stretched nearly a decade. The review was prolonged by the fatal crashes of the larger Max 8, the pandemic and tougher regulatory scrutiny, and included more than 1,000 hours of flight and ground testing, system safety analysis and human factors reviews. The FAA required Boeing to add updates to flight-control software, a redesigned flightcrew alerting system and a new engine anti-ice system to prevent overheating, while also updating Boeing Production Certificate No. 700 to include the model. Boeing shares rose more than 7% on Monday, leaving the stock up 5.7% for 2026 from around the $227 level at the start of the year. The certification arrives after Boeing withdrew its exemption request for the Max 7 following the Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout, an incident that triggered increased audits of Boeing's production lines and unannounced FAA inspections of assembly operations. Last week, the FAA also flagged 31,000 737 Max seats for inspection over improper installations that could cause seats to separate from their tracks in an emergency. Boeing has built around 30 Max 7s and nine Max 10s, according to Cirium figures cited by Reuters, while the larger Max 10 accounts for at least 28% of outstanding Max orders and is expected to receive FAA approval before year-end.