US Aviation Regulator’s Boeing 737-9 MAX Restrictions To Affect Indian Flyers
United States” Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Wednesday additional actions to ensure every aircraft is safe after the infamous Alaska Airlines accident on January 5 in which a dramatic mid-air blow-out of a panel on one of its Boeing 737-9 MAX planes created panic in the entire aviation industry.
As an additional action, the FAA informed Boeing that it will not grant any production expansion of the MAX, including the 737-9 MAX.
This action comes on top of the FAA’s investigation and ramped up oversight of Boeing and its suppliers.
The Administration also approved on Wednesday a thorough inspection and maintenance process that must be performed on each of the grounded 171 Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft and the aircraft will be eligible to return to service upon successful completion of inspection and maintenance process.
“We grounded the Boeing 737-9 MAX within hours of the incident over Portland and made clear this aircraft would not go back into service until it was safe,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said.
“The exhaustive, enhanced review our team completed after several weeks of information gathering gives me and the FAA confidence to proceed to the inspection and maintenance phase. However, let me be clear: This won’t be back to business as usual for Boeing. We will not agree to any request from Boeing for an expansion in production or approve additional production lines for the 737 MAX until we are satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process are resolved,” he added.
Reacting to incident on January 5 after an inspection Boeing had said that safety is their top priority and they deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers.
“We agree with and fully support the FAA”s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane. In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB”s investigation into the Jan. 5 accident. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers,” a statement from the aviation sector behemoth said.
How it is going to affect Indian aviation sector
Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air have committed to acquiring numerous versions of the jet, presenting a considerable challenge for these Indian airlines. Collectively, they have placed orders for hundreds of Boeing 737 Max variants. Air India Express, with a deal valued at $70 billion signed last year, has orders for 181 737 Max aircraft, while Akasa Air and SpiceJet have orders for 204 and 142 Max jets, respectively.
The recent announcement adds complexity for Indian airlines, given that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India has already inspected all Boeing 737 Max aircraft in operation and raised safety concerns. Although the exact ramifications of the FAA”s decision on Indian airlines remain uncertain, there is potential for an impact on Boeing”s plans to establish a new manufacturing line for the 737 Max.
