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Updated February 15th, 2020 at 16:12 IST

United Airlines confirms 737 MAX not returning to fleet until September

United Airlines Holdings Inc on Friday said that the company won't be flying Boeing's 737 MAX until September 4. Boeing 737 MAX flights were grounded last March

Reported by: Vishal Tiwari
United Arlines
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United Airlines Holdings Inc on February 14 said that the company won't be flying Boeing's 737 MAX until September 4. According to reports, the return of the Boeing's grounded 737 MAX is being pushed back as the timing of the key certification may not occur until April. Along with United Airlines, other major US carriers that included the list are American Airlines Group Inc and Southwest Airlines Co, who have also pushed back the return of Boeing 737 MAX to their fleet despite bearing loss last summer. 

Read: Will Showcase A Range Of Advanced Defence Capabilities At DefExpo 2020: Boeing

Earlier, American, United, and Southwest were all planning to put the airliner back into the air by June if the regulators had approved the plane in the first quarter. But that now looks unlikely as the United States Federal Aviation Administration had said that 737 MAX will only return to passenger service once safety regulators are fully satisfied and all safety-related issues are addressed to FAA's satisfaction. 

Read: Boeing Says 737 Max Aircraft Won't Return Until Mid-2020, Shares Down By 5%

737 MAX grounding

Boeing 737 MAX flights were grounded after a Lion Airline plane carrying 189 passengers crashed into the sea moments after take-off in October 2018. Then in March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after take-off, killing all 157 people on board. Three days after the March crash, the United States' FAA temporarily grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9 aircraft.

Read: Boeing Internal Communications Reveal ‘arrogance’, Obsession With Cost-cutting

As per reports, the airliner has spent months updating the issues pointed out by regulators and was also updating their software to comply with the certification. Earlier, Boeing had admitted that it was facing technical issues on its grounded 737 MAX but had also said that it was confident of the aircraft returning safely to service. Reports suggest that the software issue was related to the plane's indicator light which was staying longer than it was intended to. The indicator light was related to the plane's stabilizer trim, which raises and lowers the aircraft's nose. 

Read: As Boeing 737 MAX Test Flight Nears, Company Confident Of Safe Return To Service

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Published February 15th, 2020 at 16:12 IST

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