Alaska Airlines will resume flying its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes on Friday afternoon.
08.01.2024 - 18:04 / travelandleisure.com
Hundreds of flights have been canceled and aircraft around the world have been grounded as officials investigate what led to this weekend's in-flight blowout of an Alaska Airlines plane over Oregon.
In the United States, both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have grounded their Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft following a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Emergency Airworthiness Directive requiring “immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight.” The FAA said its order affects about 171 airplanes around the globe.
The order was issued after a plug door panel on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 blew out on a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, on Friday evening. The flight, which was carrying 171 guests and 6 crew members, safely returned to Portland International Airport.
The aircraft had been delivered only weeks earlier on Oct. 31, Alaska said in a statement.
The grounding of Alaska’s 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft resulted in 170 flight cancellations on Sunday “with more expected.” Alaska introduced a systemwide “flexible travel policy” for travelers who wanted to change or cancel their flights.
“We are awaiting further instruction from both the FAA and Boeing to begin the required inspections on the door plug of our 737-9 MAX fleet and will share information as we’re able,” Alaska wrote in a statement, adding “Cancellations will continue through the first half of the week, and we encourage guests with travel plans to continue to check their email and alaskaair.com for updates.”
United Airlines, which counts 79 of the affected aircraft in its fleet, confirmed toTravel + Leisure that it canceled 90 flights on Saturday and 180 on Sunday. The airline noted it managed to head off more cancellations by switching scheduled flights to other aircraft.
“We’re continuing to work with the FAA to clarify the inspection process and requirements for returning all MAX 9 aircraft to service,” United said in a statement shared with T+L. “We are working with customers to reaccommodate them on other flights and in some cases have been able to avoid cancellations by switching to other aircraft types."
Beyond the U.S., several international carriers were affected by the FAA’s directive. Panamanian carrier Copa Airlines grounded 21 of its aircraft “as per the mentioned directive, until they undergo the required technical inspection.” Similarly, Aeromexico and Turkish Airlines have each grounded their affected aircraft, Reuters reported.
As of Monday morning, United had canceled the most flights at 260, followed by Alaska with 165, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
The continued cancellations come as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues to
Alaska Airlines will resume flying its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes on Friday afternoon.
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Alaska Airlines said Thursday the Boeing 737 Max 9 grounding will cost it $150 million and that the airline would hold Boeing accountable.
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.
Alaska Airlines’ CEO said he was “angry” at Boeing after a door panel on a 737 Max 9 blew out mid-air.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 saga has impacted more than 1,500 Alaska Airlines flights as the carrier said there will be cancelations through Friday.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will keep the beleaguered Boeing 737-9 Max planes grounded until it approves the aircraft manufacturer’s inspection and maintenance process.
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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