A Boeing Co. 737 Max lifted off from a Seattle airfield with a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration pilot on board, the first of several flights to test whether the revamped jetliner is safe following two deadly crashes.

U.S. safety officials will require all Boeing 737 Max airliners to be inspected for a manufacturing defect on engine coverings that they say could lead to loss of power during flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration wants to know how much room the St. Louis Regional Airport has to park planes.

Boeing Co. engineers have discovered a new software problem on the grounded 737 Max that must be patched before the plane can return to service, Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson said.

Government regulators plan to review drone designs in the same way they review other aircraft, a major step toward allowing routine drone deliveries and other flights over congested cities.

UPS Inc. won U.S. certification to fly drones under regulations similar to those for airlines, a milestone that allows the company to vastly expand airborne deliveries.

Grants totaling $477 million will be used to assist with repairs and expansions at 264 airports, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced July 10.

An offshoot of Alphabet Inc.’s Google has become the first drone operator to receive government approval as an airline, an important step that gives it the legal authority to begin dropping products to actual customers.

The strain of a 34-day partial government shutdown is weighing on the nation’s air-travel system, both the federal workers who make it go and the airlines that depend on them. Air traffic controllers and airport security agents continued to work without pay — they will miss a second biweekly paycheck Jan. 25 — but high absentee rates raise the threat of long airport lines, or worse.

A five-year bill that would authorize federal aviation programs set to expire at the end of the month could be called up for a vote in the U.S. House as early as Sept. 26.