Boeing Gets F.A.A. Go-Ahead for Plan to Resume Deliveries of 787 Dreamliner

The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the way for Boeing to resume deliveries of its new plane after it was paused due to quality concerns.

The FAA approved Boeing's plan to inspect and repair the issues on Friday in a major milestone on the way to delivering the planes, according to a person familiar with the decision. The jets will be inspected by the F.A.A.

An important part of Boeing's fleet is the Dreamliner, a twin-aisle plane used for long international flights. It appeals to airlines because it is more fuel efficient.

Both Boeing and its customers were affected by the delivery delay. Boeing estimated in January that it would cost about $3.5 billion to fix the problem. The delivery freeze forced American Airlines to cut several international routes.

Finding and filling paper-thin gaps in the plane's body was one of the quality concerns. Boeing said there wasn't an immediate impact on the safety of the planes.

It wasn't immediately clear how soon the company would be able to start shipping the plane back to customers. An executive at American said earlier this month that it would begin receiving part of its order of Dreamliners in August.

Earlier this week, Boeing said it was close to restarting deliveries. Brian West, Boeing's chief financial officer, said on the call that flight checks had been completed on the initial airplanes.

A spokeswoman for the F.A.A. wouldn't say anything about the decision. Boeing said it would work with the agency and its customers to restart deliveries.

Boeing said this week that it was going to make five of the planes a month, down from the 14 it was making before the swine flu hit.