The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Boeing exemption from fuel-efficiency limits beginning in 2028, enabling the company to sell 35 additional 777F freighters.
The announcement came after Boeing petitioned for a waiver from the new rules in December 2025, citing the fact that the 777F would no longer be eligible to fly after December 31, 2027.
In February 2024, the FAA released a final rule to reduce carbon pollution emitted by most large aircraft flying in US airspace.
The rule requires incorporating improved fuel-efficient technologies for aircraft manufactured after January 1, 2028, but was designed to not affect aircraft currently in service.
At the time, former FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said that the agency was taking a “large step forward to ensure the manufacture of more fuel-efficient airplanes, reduce carbon pollution, and reach our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050”.
In its December 2026 petition, Boeing argued that relief from the rule would allow the company to meet “anticipated customer demand and support the substantial public interest in the sustained transportation of air cargo prior to the 777-8F entering service”.
The 777-8F, Boeing’s next generation freighter, is not expected to enter service until around 2029.
“Additional 777Fs are needed after January 1, 2028, to maintain an uninterrupted supply of large freighters to the market prior to the introduction of the 777-8F,” Boeing wrote. “This petition therefore requests exemption of a total quantity of 35 777F airplanes until achievement of 777- 8F first delivery and entry into service.”
In its petition, Boeing claimed that more than $15 billion worth of US export value could be lost without an exemption, adding that the 777F is currently the most fuel-efficient aircraft for the global freight market.
Additionally, Boeing argued that the 777F is the only large widebody freighter currently in production.
FAA grants exemption to Boeing
On September 16, 2026, the FAA confirmed that Boeing had been granted a waiver, allowing the planemaker exemption from the 2024 fuel efficiency rule.
The FAA wrote: “The Boeing Company is granted an exemption from the requirements of 14 CFR part 38, subpart B and the referenced Appendix A to the extent necessary to provide Boeing the opportunity to obtain first certificates of airworthiness for up to thirty-five newly built 777F airplanes issued on or after January 1, 2028, through January 1, 2031.”
According to the FAA, this exemption is in the “interest of the public and safety,” but it was stressed that this must be time-limited to January 2031.
The agency acknowledged the practical benefits of permitting limited 777F production until its successor is available, and that its decision “provides economic benefit and supports jobs” in the US.