After three weeks of being grounded, the Boeing 737 Max 9 is returning to service.
11.01.2024 - 16:21 / travelandleisure.com
Alaska Airlines will cancel up to 150 flights per day through Saturday on its maligned Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft.
The airline, which suffered a dramatic mid-air blowout on one of its aircraft last week, has extended the cancellation of all flights on its affected aircraft through at least Saturday, according to Alaska. That equates to between 110 and 150 flights per day.
In total, Alaska has 65 Boeing 737-9 Max planes in its fleet.
“We regret the significant disruption that has been caused for our guests by cancellations due to these aircraft being out of service,” the airline wrote in a statement. “However, the safety of our employees and guests is our highest priority and we will only return these aircraft to service when all findings have been fully resolved and meet all FAA and Alaska’s stringent standards.”
Passengers who are affected by the cancellations will be notified and are encouraged to use self-service options on the airline's website when it comes to rescheduling or rebooking. Alaska Airlines has introduced a systemwide “flexible travel policy” for travelers who want to change or cancel their flights in the future.
The cancellations come as Alaska continues to inspect the planes after a plug door panel on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 blew out on a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California. Prior to the incident, the aircraft had reportedly been restricted from flying to Hawaii after a warning light possibly indicating a pressurization problem had lit up on three different flights.
Following the blowout, Alaska initially cleared 18 737-9 Max planes to return to service since they had recently undergone a “heavy maintenance visit,” but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the planes shortly after.
As part of the inspection of its entire 737-9 Max fleet, Alaska later found “some loose hardware was visible on some aircraft.”
“The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service,” the FAA wrote in a statement.
United Airlines, which has 79 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft in its fleet, similarly found loose bolts in its own affected planes. According to flight tracker FlightAware, the carrier had canceled 191 flights.
After three weeks of being grounded, the Boeing 737 Max 9 is returning to service.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has laid out a path for the beleaguered Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to return to service as soon as Friday after a mid-air blowout grounded the planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it is halting any production expansion of the Boeing 737 Max, after a door plug suddenly fell off an Alaska Airlines jet.
It appears Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft will begin returning to the skies in the coming days after the planes were grounded in the wake of a harrowing incident on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month in which a door plug explosively blew out of an aircraft during flight.
CEOs of both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have expressed frustrations with Boeing weeks after a mid-air blowout forced the airline to ground dozens of its planes.
Based on its inspection of the first 40 of more than 170 jets, the Federal Aviation Administration appears ready to allow the Boeing 737 Max 9 back in the air.
Alaska Airlines has begun preliminary inspections on some of its Boeing 737-9 Max aircrafts this weekend, adding that up to 20 planes could undergo inspection, the company said on Saturday.
Alaska Airlines said it will extend its cancellation of Boeing 737 Max 9 flights through Tuesday, Jan. 16, for planes that have been grounded since last week’s mid-air cabin panel blowout.
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Mother Nature is making for a messy start to the long weekend.