Boeing 737 MAX Could Stay Grounded for at Least 2 Months Amid Scandal - Reports

13:19 GMT, 29 May 2019

CC BY 2.0 / Aka The Beav / Boeing 737 MAX roll-out

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Boeing's global fleet of 737 MAX aircraft could remain grounded for at least another two months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Sputnik

The timing of the 737 MAX's return to service is up to global regulators, but airlines are bracing for a further 10 to 12 weeks before the plane can resume commercial service, the WSJ reported, citing International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General Alexandre de Junica.

De Junica said that the impact of the grounding on the airlines was significant, though the IATA does not yet have any numbers to quantify the financial hit from cancelled flights and lower sales.

Last week, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hosted foreign regulators to discuss the process of clearing the 737 MAX aircraft for commercial service, but the meeting failed to produce a specific timeline, the reported said.

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The aircraft was grounded after two 737 MAX planes crashed within six months of each other — the first in Indonesia in October 2018 and the second in Ethiopia in March. The investigations into the incidents are underway, but numerous reports suggest the aircraft's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System was the reason for the crashes.