US Transportation Secretary will travel to Seattle to meet Boeing on safety efforts

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will travel to Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington on March 13, 2025, to assess the manufacturers safety standards.

In comments made last month, Duffy stated that he would visit the manufacturer himself, in order to evaluate measures that have been implemented to ensure Boeing's planes meet safety standards.

“I will be traveling to Seattle to visit Boeing’s training campus and factory to get a firsthand look at their planes to ensure their planes are maintaining the highest level of safety standards,” said Duffy in a post published on X, formally twitter. Duffy made this announcement six years on from the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX jet, which resulted in of 157 casualties, including eight Americans.

“I met with several families of the passengers of flight 302 on February 25, 2025. My door and this department are always open to them for answers and to help them navigate their grief,” he said. 

When appointed to the role in January, Duffy highlighted that a production cap implemented on Boeing will be maintained, when discussing the manufacturers future. In early 2024, then Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Mike Whitaker set a monthly production cap of 38 on the 737 MAX jets after a door plug missing four key bolts flew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, shortly after it departed Portland.

Duffy stated that the cap will be maintained until the Department of Transportation (DOT) has confidence that a production increase will not reduce the quality of the aircraft being produced by the American manufacturer.

Duffy also requested in February that Boeing’s CEO travels to Washington D.C “as soon as possible” to discuss quality and safety concerns at the company.