The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said he is not currently considering lifting a production cap of 38 planes per month on Boeing's 737 MAX imposed after a January 2024 mid-air emergency involving a new Alaska Airlines Boeing plane missing four key bolts.

A Boeing 737 Max aircraft sits on the tarmac at Boeing's 737 Max production facility in Renton, Washington. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

"Not at this time," Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told reporters after a U.S. House hearing. He also said he was not discussing a change to the agency's policy of inspecting all Boeing 737 MAXs and 787 Dreamliners before issuing airworthiness certificates for individual planes, rather than delegating those tasks to Boeing.

The FAA last week -- in a decision first reported by Reuters -- extended by three years a program that allows Boeing to perform some tasks on the agency's behalf like inspections, saying the planemaker had made improvements.