Some of us are old enough to remember when one would occasionally hear a BOOM from overhead, on a clear day, out of a bright blue sky. I still remember the first time I heard one, which in those days (mid-60s) would have come from a military aircraft. My father sat me down and gave me a pretty good primer on what sonic booms were and what caused them.
Thanks to a new measure that passed unanimously through the House of Representatives, you may soon be able to fly from New York to San Francisco in less time than it takes you to get through security, without the troublesome sonic booms. Supersonic commercial air travel has been prohibited in American airspace since 1973, but this House vote will change that.
U.S. air travelers could soon embark on journeys faster than the speed of sound if a bill in the House of Representatives is taken up in the Senate.
The House voted to legalize supersonic flight in a decisive bipartisan vote on Tuesday, with the bill passing unanimously by voice vote in the early evening.
Supersonic passenger flights over land were banned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1973 over noise concerns, and no such planes were ever manufactured in the U.S. by American-owned airlines.
The last supersonic commercial airliner was the Concorde, which was retired in 2003. The Concorde was, however, essentially 1970s technology; the state of the art has changed a lot since then.
There’s a key caveat: No sonic booms.
The bill, led by Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, would give the FAA a year to update its rules to allow for passenger flights over land that are faster than Mach 1.
But the caveat for those flights is that they must not be heard or felt by people on the ground, thereby eliminating noise pollution concerns.
One manufacturer is already working on the new generation of supersonic airliners:
Boom Supersonic, a company backing the bill, told Fox News Digital, “We have demonstrated that civil supersonic flight can be safe, efficient, and quiet. Today’s bipartisan vote is an important step toward codifying the executive order signed by the President last year that overturns a 50 year old outdated regulation, clearing the runway for all of us to enjoy faster flights.”
Here’s the catch (there’s always a catch): This is going to be a costly option for travelers, just as the Concorde was. That’s fine; premium services, like being able to fly from coast to coast in four or five hours, command premium prices.
Read More: Obscure Federal Program Could Be the Long-Term Solution for Long TSA Lines During Government Shutdowns
Delta Just Stripped Members of Congress of Their VIP Airport Perk — They Can Thank the Schumer Shutdown
Note that the Boom Supersonic aircraft is still in its infancy – and there’s no guarantee this deregulation of supersonic air travel will get through the Senate, which has much bigger issues on its plate right now – like getting the Transportation Security Agency back to work.
While this is a cool development, as noted, it’s going to be expensive. Watch for Democrats to propose heavy subsidies for any new generation of supersonic air travel, claiming that it’s unfair and discriminatory for welfare recipients and “oppressed persons” to not be able to afford to zap from Newark to LAX in five hours instead of eight.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
