WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) on Monday said it is finalizing new rules

requiring charter, commuter, air tour operators, and aircraft

manufacturers to implement a key safety tool aimed at reducing

accidents.

The FAA is adopting a final rule mandating the use of Safety

Management Systems (SMS), which are a set of policies and

procedures to proactively identify and address potential

operational hazards, after first proposing to do so in January

2023. U.S. airlines have been required to have SMS since 2018

and some aerospace companies already voluntarily have SMS

programs like Boeing ( BA ).