It has been reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) intends to lift the ban on supersonic travel over land, which has been in place for over 50 years. The organisation wants to lift the ban to legalise and begin implementing commercial supersonic travel by mid-2027.
Breaking the Sound Barrier
The FAA has submitted a proposal to reinstate commercial flights faster than the speed of sound over the continental U.S. These special jets would travel at 770 mph, while standard jets travel between 550 mph and 600 mph, cutting journey time considerably. Amid the controversy generated by the thunderous booming sound that accompanies supersonic travel, the proposal suggests guidelines for managing the “boom”, including a noise-based certification standard.
Because supersonic travel breaks the sound barrier, it creates shock waves that produce a loud, explosive sound on the ground, called a sonic boom. While these noises are typically not dangerous, they are extremely loud and disruptive to those nearby. This massive noise disturbance led the FAA to ban supersonic flight over land in 1973. Despite the ban, exceptions for military or space-based operations are sometimes made.
Sonic Boom
The first aircraft to break the sound barrier flew in 1947, and in the years that followed, several aircraft manufacturers hoped to become pioneers of commercial supersonic flight. In late 1973, the Concorde, a supersonic jet jointly manufactured by the UK and France, made its first transatlantic crossing before inaugurating the world’s first scheduled supersonic passenger service on Jan. 21, 1976.
Soon, the Concorde was making regular international commercial flights. With its extreme supersonic speed transporting it from the East Coast of America to Europe in only three and a half hours, it cut standard journeys in half and was hailed as revolutionary for the aviation industry.
Despite its innovative speed, the Concorde was unpopular with those along its flight path due to the sonic booms that inevitably accompanied its flights, and it became increasingly scorned for its high fares. A fatal crash in 2000 highlighted vulnerabilities in the aircraft design, sealing the Concorde’s fate, and by the end of 2003, the service was permanently discontinued.
Combatting the Boom
A key priority of the FAA’s new plan is to lessen the impact of sonic booms and reduce sound complaints, with the proposal outlining a flight technique called “Mach cut-off” to address the issue. This technique utilises the aircraft’s design, atmospheric conditions, speed, and altitude to refract the sonic boom back into the atmosphere, decreasing the impact on land. The FAA administrator Bryan Bedford expressed confidence in the new technique, commenting:
“Advances in aerospace engineering, materials science, noise reduction, and new operational concepts will eliminate the old sonic boom. This means we can ultimately repeal the ban from the 1970s on supersonic flight over U.S. territory while minimizing noise impacts to residents in communities along the route and near airports.”
The agency intends to have the new rules finalised by mid-2027, thereby legalising internal supersonic flight over land in less than a year. On top of this, the U.S. government hopes to extend supersonic travel abroad, including international flights, and has called for the FAA to expand and accelerate its efforts to work with foreign aviation authorities to make this a reality.
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