For more than 50 years, a federal ban has kept commercial jets from breaking the sound barrier over American soil. That could soon change. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a new rule that would finally lift the decades-old prohibition on overland supersonic flight — potentially paving the way for cross-country trips that take hours instead of half a day. As Newsweek reported, “a New York to Los Angeles flight could be shortened by more than two hours“.
What the new FAA rule does
The proposal would replace the 1970s ban on civilian supersonic flight with a new standard. The FAA would let supersonic jets fly over land as long as the sonic boom is too weak to disturb people on the ground. In practice, that means airlines would have to keep the noise from their sonic booms below a strict limit — and show the FAA exactly how they plan to do it before they’re cleared to fly.
Why supersonic flight got banned in the first place
The original ban dates back to 1973, after aircraft testing throughout the 1960s produced sonic booms loud enough to rattle windows and trigger a wave of noise complaints from communities. Regulators at the time concluded the disruption simply wasn’t worth the speed.
Decades of progress in aerospace engineering, materials science, and noise-reduction design have made it possible to fly faster than sound with a dramatically quieter footprint. The FAA’s new proposal follows a June 2025 executive order directing the agency to clear regulatory hurdles standing in the way of faster air travel.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford pointed to those advances directly, noting that improvements in engineering and operational design mean the agency can move to repeal the old ban while still protecting communities near flight paths and airports from excessive noise.
So when could you actually fly supersonic?
As reported by KTLA, aircraft makers are eyeing a future where a trip from coast to coast could shrink to around three hours, down from the typical six. But there are still several steps left before any passenger boards a supersonic flight. The FAA is targeting mid-2027 to finalize the rules — meaning the ban could be lifted well before the first ticketed supersonic flight ever takes off.
