Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental receives FAA approval for 330-minute ETOPS

Boeing has received 330-minute Extended Operations (ETOPS) approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. It is the first time a four-engine airplane has received this type of design approval. With this approval, required for four-engine passenger airplanes built after Feb. 2015 to fly beyond 180 minutes from an en-route alternate airport, the 747-8’s design is approved to conduct 330-minute ETOPS missions. These missions allow operators to fly long-distances more directly on virtually any worldwide city pair routing. Although ETOPS has been a requirement for twin-engine airplanes since the 1980s, the regulations have recently been applied to the design of passenger airplanes with more than two engines.