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Story summary
- FedEx Express will return its 29 MD-11 freighters to service in May 2026.
- COO Richard W. Smith said the aircraft are ready during a Wings Club talk in New York, after the grounding triggered by the UPS MD-11F crash on 4 November 2025 and an FAA Emergency Airworthiness Directive that cited fatigue cracks in the engine-pylon aft-mount.
- FedEx will keep the trijets operating to meet cargo demand, whereas UPS retired its MD-11Fs in Q4 2025.
