Factbox: What airlines, regulators are doing about Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets
09/01/2024 08:42
(Adds Turkey, South Korea, Aeromexico)
Jan 9 (Reuters) - The latest setback for Boeing's BA.N
top-selling 737 MAX aircraft occurred on Friday when a panel
blew off an Alaska Airlines ALK.N plane forcing its pilots to
make an emergency landing.
U.S. regulators have ordered a temporary grounding for
safety checks on 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets installed with the
same panel, and U.S. authorities are investigating the cause of
the incident.
There are about 215 737 MAX 9 jets in service in total,
according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Five years ago two deadly crashes of Boeing 737 MAX planes
triggered a worldwide grounding of all MAX jets.
Here's what regulators and airlines are doing as a result of
the latest incident:
REGULATORS:
U.S. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA):
The FAA issued a directive on Saturday temporarily grounding
certain 737 MAX 9 planes until inspections are performed,
affecting 171 aircraft.
U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB):
The independent U.S. agency has opened an investigation.
BRAZIL:
Brazil's aviation regulator ANAC said on Sunday the FAA
ruling automatically applies to all flights in Brazil.
In Brazil, only Copa Airlines operates the plane, it said.
CANADA:
Transport Canada on Sunday said there are no Boeing 737 MAX
9 planes in use by Canadian operators.
CHINA:
China's regulator has sought details on the incident, a
person familiar with the matter said on Saturday. Bloomberg
reported earlier that China, the first country to ground MAX
flights in 2019, was considering whether to take action.
EUROPEAN UNION:
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) adopted the
FAA directive, but noted no EU member state airlines operate
aircraft with the affected configuration.
INDIA:
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on
Monday that one-time inspections it had ordered of Boeing 737
MAX 8 aircraft had been performed satisfactorily. None of the
country's airlines fly the 737 MAX 9 model.
INDONESIA:
Indonesia grounded three Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes operated by
Lion Air on Jan. 6, a transport ministry spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the planes had different
configurations from the Alaska Airlines plane.
The ministry will coordinate with the FAA, Boeing and Lion
Air to monitor the situation, adding that "operational safety
will be our priority".
UK:
The UK Civil Aviation Authority said on Saturday there are
no UK-registered planes affected. It will require any 737 MAX 9
operators entering its airspace to comply with the FAA
directive.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
The civil aviation said on Sunday that none of its national
carriers have planes affected by the order.
TURKEY:
Turkey's Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Monday
noted the FAA's actions and said it was coordinating with
stakeholders regarding affected aircraft belonging to airlines
in Turkey and those using Turkish airspace.
SOUTH KOREA:
South Korea's transport ministry on Sunday asked five
airlines to inspect their 14 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. On
Tuesday the ministry said no problems had been detected.
AIRLINES:
ALASKA AIRLINES:
The airline grounded all 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes in its
fleet early on Saturday, but later returned 18 to service
following earlier maintenance checks on the FAA's order.
The carrier said it had cancelled 170 flights on Sunday with
60 more flights being cancelled on Monday following the FAA
order.
UNITED AIRLINES UAL.O :
The only other U.S. airline that operates the jets said it
temporarily suspended service on all 737 MAX 9 aircraft to run
inspections required by the FAA.
Earlier, it had said that of its 79 MAX 9 airplanes, about
33 had been inspected as required by the aviation regulator.
United cancelled 230 flights on Sunday, or 8% of its
scheduled departures.
COPA AIRLINES:
Panamanian carrier said on Saturday it had temporarily
grounded 21 737 MAX 9 aircraft and that it "expects to return
these aircraft safely and reliably to the flight schedule within
the next 24 hours". Some delays and cancellations were expected.
As of end-September, the carrier had 26 737 MAX 9 in its
fleet in two configurations.
FIJI AIRWAYS:
The Fijian flag carrier said on Monday it was unaffected by
the FAA grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
FLYDUBAI:
The airline said on Sunday that its three Boeing 737 MAX 9
planes were not affected. It operates the aircraft with a
deactivated mid-aft exit door configuration, which is not
affected by the directive.
TURKISH AIRLINES:
The airline said on Sunday it has withdrawn five aircraft
from service for inspection. The planes will be grounded at the
first airport they land at.
AEROMEXICO:
The airline said on Sunday it had grounded 19 affected MAX 9
jets for inspection.
ICELANDAIR
Icelandair said on Monday it is not affected by the FAA
grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
"It has been confirmed that the issue is related to
equipment that is not a part of Icelandair's Boeing 737 MAX 9
configuration," said a spokesperson for the airline, which
operates four of the aircraft.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Boeing checks hit paperwork snag; US investigators search for
missing part urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3DX03H
TIMELINE-Boeing's ongoing 737 MAX crisis urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3DW0J7
EXPLAINER-What is the panel that blew off a Boeing plane in
midair? urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3DX0CI
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo and
Valerie Insinna in Washington; compiled by Josephine Mason, Luca
Fratangelo, Lisa Barrington, Marleen Käsebier; Editing by Ed
Osmond, Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)
((Josephine.Mason@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7695; Reuters
Messaging: josephine.mason.reuters.com@reuters.net))