FAA approves path for grounded Boeing jets to return after panel incident

The Federal Aviation Administration has laid out plans for airlines to once again be able to use the 737 Max 9 jets that were grounded following the midair scare earlier this month when a panel flew off an Alaska Airlines plane. The agency said on Wednesday, Jan. 24, that each of the 171 planes must face detailed inspections of dozens of components, including bolts, guide tracks, and fasteners.

Boeing said it will work with the airlines to complete these inspections. Alaska and United Airlines, which have been forced to cancel hundreds of flights daily, said they expect to have some of the planes back in service by this weekend.

At the same time, the FAA is not allowing Boeing to expand production of the 737 Max jets.

“However, let me be clear: This won’t be back to business as usual for Boeing” said Mike Whitaker, FAA Administrator. “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.”

The FAA said that the halt is needed to ensure accountability by Boeing, adding that it will not agree to any requests for expansion until Boeing resolves quality control issues. A delay that experts said is rippling across the industry already.

“We don’t put planes in the air that we don’t have 100% confidence in,” Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said.

According to a Reuters report, Southwest airlines has already changed its 2024 fleet plans due to supply-chain challenges and certification requirements that Boeing is facing. Southwest, a loyal Boeing customer, is expecting to receive 79 jets from Boeing in 2024, down from earlier projections of 85.