LONDON (Reuters) – The latest blow for Boeing’s top-selling 737 MAX aircraft occurred on Friday when a cabin panel blowout forced an Alaska Airlines flight to make an emergency landing.
U.S. regulators have ordered a temporary grounding of certain planes for safety checks. That’s not as severe a move as the grounding of all MAX-family jets worldwide nearly five years ago following a pair of fatal crashes.
About 215 737 MAX 9 jets are in service worldwide, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Only about 171 feature the plug door that was blown out during the flight.
Other models include an additional emergency evacuation door.
Here’s what regulators and airlines are doing as a result of the issue:
REGULATORS:
U.S. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA):
The FAA issued a directive on Saturday temporarily grounding certain 737 MAX 9 airplanes until inspections are performed, affecting 171 airplanes.
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 on international flights arriving and departing the Guarulhos Airport in Sao Paulo, 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 an aircraft with the affected configuration.
INDIA:
The aviation regulator on Saturday ordered domestic airlines to carry out a onetime inspection of the emergency exits on all Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft currently operating as part of their fleet. None of the country’s airlines have the 737-9 MAX model in their fleets.
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.
AIRLINES:
ALASKA AIRLINES:
The airline grounded its entire 65 MAX 9 fleet early on Saturday, but later returned 18 to service following earlier maintenance checks on the FAA’s order.
It reversed that later on Saturday and then pulled them from service again.
On Sunday, it canceled 163 flights, or 21% of scheduled departures, and said travel disruptions from the grounding are expected to last through at least midweek.
UNITED AIRLINES:
The only other U.S. airline that operates the jets on Saturday 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 already been inspected as required by the aviation regulator.
United canceled 230 flights on Sunday, or 8% of scheduled departures.
COPA AIRLINES:
Panamanian carrier said on Saturday it had temporarily grounded 21 737 MAX 9 aircraft and said it “expects to return these aircraft safely and reliably to the flight schedule within the next 24 hours.” Some delays and cancellations are expected.
As of end-September, the carrier had 26 737 MAX 9 in its fleet, but operates them in two different configurations.
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:
It said on Sunday it has withdrawn its five aircraft from service for inspection. The planes will be grounded at the first airport they land at.
(Reporting by Reuters buros, Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo and Valerie Insinna in Washington; compiled by Josephine Mason; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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