FedEx returned 20 of its 28 MD-11 freighters to active flying in the past week, mostly on its US and Canadian network with a few flights to Singapore, according to Air Cargo News’ own tracking of the fleet. FedEx hasn’t confirmed the count itself.
CEO Raj Subramaniam said in June he hoped to have every MD-11 back in the air in time for peak season, a deadline that's just weeks away.
Producer prices for scheduled air freight peaked in May and were still about 24% above their January 2019 level in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The fleet was grounded in November 2025 after the FAA ordered pylon bearing inspections across the type, following a fatal UPS MD-11 crash on November 4, 2025 that killed three pilots and 12 people on the ground. FedEx has since retired five of its MD-11s.
UPS retired its entire MD-11 fleet rather than return it to service, replacing the type with 767s, while Western Global brought its four MD-11s back into rotation.
Peak air capacity is under pressure from the other direction too. Amazon suspended operations with 21 Air after one of the carrier’s Boeing 767s overran a runway in Miami on September 6, killing five people. Seven of 21 Air’s other 767s were flying dedicated Amazon routes at the time, The Loadstar reports.
