Gulfstream Confirms Delay over Canadian Type Certification

Gulfstream confirmed that it has applications pending for Canadian type certification of its G500, G600, G700, and G800. This comes in the wake of President Trump’s declaration late last week that he intends to revoke certification for all Canadian aircraft, including Bombardier Globals, in retaliation for delays in Transport Canada approval for these large-cabin Gulfstream twinjets.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, January 29, the U.S. President specifically said that revocation of approvals for Canadian aircraft would remain in force until Gulfstream’s jets are “fully certified” by Transport Canada. He also threatened 50% tariffs on any aircraft produced in Canada and sold in the U.S., accusing Canadian officials of blocking Gulfstream exports to the country.

A Gulfstream spokeswoman told AIN that the Savannah, Georgia-based company has four FAA- and EASA-certified aircraft awaiting Transport Canada certification. The G500 and G600 applications have been pending for some six years, and applications for the newer G700 and G800 were made in 2024. The company said these applications have yet to be approved “despite the longstanding U.S.-Canada Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement and its Implementation Procedure for Airworthiness.”

Transport Canada has not responded directly to AIN’s questions about the current status of the type certification applications for the Gulfstream aircraft. On Friday, Canada’s transport minister issued the following statement: “Last night, I spoke with Bombardier’s CEO, and earlier today I had a call with senior leadership at [Gulfstream parent company] General Dynamics. We will remain in close contact. Transport Canada officials are in communication with their U.S. counterparts, and our government is actively working on this situation. Canada’s aviation industry is safe and reliable. We will stand behind it.”

There is also some uncertainty as to whether Textron Aviation may be facing some delays over Canadian certification of its larger Citation models. A quick search of the Canadian type certification database did not reveal validations for either the Longitude, which was FAA-approved in 2019 with EASA following in 2021, or the Latitude, which has been validated by more than 40 countries since FAA approval in 2015. However, it is uncertain whether or when Textron Aviation has applied for such approval. Often, manufacturers will seek FAA, EASA, and Transport Canada approval in concert, but sometimes that depends on market demand, and the approvals may come at different times. At press time, the Wichita-based manufacturer did not respond to AIN’s questions on the matter.

Business aviation industry groups have had little to say publicly in response to President Trump’s declaration, many quietly taking a wait-and-see approach to how the situation unfolds. The FAA also has not indicated how it intends to implement the revocation of type certificates, but the White House maintains that the “decertifying” of aircraft would only involve new—not in-service—aircraft.

Behind the scenes, experts have questioned whether the U.S. government has a legal basis for revoking type certificates for reasons other than safety issues. There has been concern as to whether the threat of sanctions on Canadian aircraft could reverse the hard-won exemption for aerospace products that was secured last year in the immediate aftermath of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” declaration on April 2.

At a specially convened session during the CJI London conference on Monday evening, several legal and industry experts addressed the ramifications. The general consensus was that there is no legal basis for decertification of aircraft as proposed and that, as was the case last year, the scope for implementing any new tariffs is unclear.

Last week, Bombardier also recapped that it has extensive manufacturing activities in the U.S. The company has around 2,800 suppliers and 3,000 employees in the country.

In March 2022, as part of the European Union's response to Russian invasion of Ukraine, EASA suspended the type certificates for Russian aircraft, including United Aircraft Corp.'s SJ-100 regional jet. A month later the FAA downgraded Russia's air safety rating "due to non-compliance with international standards" but did not suspend type certificates.