Boeing 737 MAX Jets Might Not Fly Until August

Image Credit: Simple Flying

According to the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Boeing 737 MAX jets may not return to service until August.

Alongside this announcement, the IATA reminded the public that the final say on when the jets may take off rests with aviation regulators.

The entire global 737 MAX 8 fleet was grounded in March after a second crash involving a MAX 8 aircraft killed all 157 people on board. Although Boeing has announced that the software problem has been fixed, the IATA now believes it could take until August for the planes to return to service. That would be anywhere from 10-12 weeks from now, according to IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac.

A summit on the matter is in the books, and the IATA is gathering Boeing, the airlines that use their planes, and regulators in order to discuss what needs to be done going forward. At an IATA meeting in Montreal, airline members discussed how they want to work closely with regulators on any decision regarding Boeing’s 737 MAX planes returning to service.

The airline industry in general has taken a bit of a beating in the last few months. Labor and infrastructure costs have been increasing, and trade tensions haven’t made the situation any better. Boeing is bouncing back slowly, but the software failures that caused the two crashes has been solved and there is now a clear way forward.

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5 years ago