Trump fast-tracks supersonic travel, amid spate of flight-related executive orders

In a significant policy shift, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to lift the 52-year ban on supersonic flight over American airspace. This decision comes shortly after bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress aiming for the same outcome. The new order mandates the FAA to end the restrictions on overland supersonic travel while also creating noise-based certification standards. This will pave the way for faster-than-sound flights, provided that they do not produce audible sonic booms that reach the ground. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, emphasized the importance of this development, stating, "The reality is that Americans should be able to fly from New York to LA in under four hours." This executive order is expected to catalyze the advancement of commercial supersonic flight, including initiatives from companies like Boom Supersonic. Earlier this year, Boom's XB-1 prototype made history as the first privately-developed civil aircraft to break the sound barrier over continental U.S. airspace. Boom's CEO, Blake Scholl, expressed his enthusiasm following the executive order, stating, "The sound barrier was never physical — it was regulatory. With supersonic legalized, the return of supersonic passenger air travel is just a matter of time." In addition to the supersonic initiative, Trump also signed two other executive orders focused on the future of aviation: one aimed at accelerating the commercialization of drones and electric vertical takeoff vehicles, and another to create a federal task force to address drone flight restrictions.