Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a new noise-based certification standard for supersonic aircraft on Tuesday, marking the Trump administration’s latest step toward lifting decades-old restrictions on commercial flights faster than the speed of sound.

The proposal follows President Donald Trump’s June 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to accelerate the return of civil supersonic aviation. The rule would replace outdated regulations with standards based on an aircraft’s noise performance rather than a blanket prohibition on overland supersonic flight.