On 6 June 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to remove the 1973 rule prohibiting supersonic commercial flights above land. According to a summary of the order, the United States want to establish itself as the “undisputed leader in high-speed aviation.”
For over five decades, “outdated and overly restrictive regulations have kept supersonic flight grounded, hindering American innovation and diminishing our global edge in aviation,” the White House stated in the summary.
Advancements in supersonic aircraft technology now make it possible for planes to exceed the speed of sound without producing a loud sonic boom on the ground. However, current regulations still prohibit such flights over land. Earlier in 2025, a jet built by Boom Supersonic became the first privately funded aircraft to break the sound barrier.
Concerns about the noise from sonic booms have cast a shadow over the potential of supersonic travel since its inception. Following the introduction of supersonic flights, Americans filed thousands of complaints about noise disturbances and property damage, which ultimately resulted in the ban.
The order also directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to eliminate additional regulatory obstacles to supersonic flights and to develop a noise certification standard instead. Its aim is to consider “how acceptable it is to communities, whether it makes economic sense, and what’s technologically achievable.”
Breaking the sound barrier, again. Today, @realDonaldTrump issued an executive order that effectively lifts the 52-year ban on civil supersonic flight over land in the U.S. It directs the FAA to repeal the supersonic speed limit as long as aircraft don’t produce an audible sonic… pic.twitter.com/4jQeCRcpwt
— Boom Supersonic (@boomaero) June 6, 2025
“The reality is that Americans should be able to fly from New York to LA in under four hours,” said Michael Kratsios, assistant to the President and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The new regulation means that companies such as Boom Supersonic will be able to create routes such as San Francisco to New York without needing to detour over oceanic paths. Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, highlighted that a renaissance in supersonic passenger travel cannot be avoided with the removal of the prohibition.
🚨 TRUMP UNLEASHES SUPERSONIC FLIGHT
— FED Policy (@FED_Policy) June 7, 2025
President Trump signs executive order to eliminate the 1973 ban on commercial supersonic travel over land
The directive instructs the FAA to repeal outdated noise regs and set new standards balancing tech, economics, and community impact
It… pic.twitter.com/8CnWqmC7Dc
Based in Colorado, the US, the company has been attempting to bring back supersonic commercial travel. To abide by the noise certification standards, Boom is looking to sidestep noise concerns by removing loud afterburners and instead using a custom-designed turbofan engine that is claimed to meet current aviation noise regulations.
In addition to the removal of the supersonic travel directive, Trump signed two more orders encouraging the FAA to fast-track regulations permitting companies to operate drones beyond the visual line of sight of their operators. At the same time, they will introduce restrictions designed to guard against terrorism, espionage, and threats to public safety.
