The United States of America is taking legal measures that are intended to result in aircraft that require a particularly large amount of fuel being taken out of service. This could also result in the cessation of production of the Boeing 767 cargo variant.

The US Civil Aviation Administration issued a new directive on February 16, 2024. This affects some samples that have an MTOW exceeding 12.566 pounds. Turboprop aircraft have a minimum takeoff weight of 18.999 pounds, so they are affected by the new rules.

The aim is to encourage airlines and manufacturers to use fuel-efficient machines or bring them onto the market. However, the new standards only apply to a limited extent to aircraft that are already certified. This depends on the timing of the FAA type certification. If this was issued on or after January 1, 2021, the new rules will apply from January 1, 2028. However, any changes that have a positive impact on pollutant emissions and fuel efficiency will be taken into account if they are made after January 1, 2023 have been.

The Boeing 767 is currently only manufactured in the cargo version and is considered technically outdated. The type certificate was granted long before the deadline, although the deadline in 2028 would also apply because the FAA would then no longer register new buildings. It is therefore to be expected that the US aircraft manufacturer would be forced to stop production.

However, this is unlikely to be the only reason, as demand for new B767Fs is extremely low. Comments from the industry were obtained during the process. The major cargo airlines have stated that they see no demand for new B767Fs beyond January 1, 2028. However, the manufacturer Boeing did not provide any information as to whether this model could be discontinued or whether it would be modernized accordingly in order to meet the new rules. Boeing has not been able to land a new order for the B767F outside the United States for a long time.

The Airbus A380 would also have been affected by the new regulations in the USA. The emphasis is on “would” because the production was discontinued in December 2021 after 123 examples were finally assembled. The last superjumbo was delivered to major customer Emirates Airline. Machines that have already been registered have - at least as things currently stand - longer protection, although the FAA apparently assumes that many carriers will gradually phase out their fuel-thirsty aircraft voluntarily for economic reasons.