SEATTLE - Boeing has announced that it will temporarily halt production of Boeing 737 Max aircraft in January 2020 after prolonged grounding following the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
In an official statement, the US aircraft manufacturer said it would not terminate employees involved in 737 Max production, although the halt “is likely to affect suppliers and the wider [US] economy”. There are currently 400 737 Max aircraft in storage after numerous airlines decided to cancel or convert their 737 Max orders.
“Safely returning the 737 Max to service is our top priority,” said Boeing in the statement, Monday (16/12).
“We know that the process of approving the 737 Max's return to service, and of determining appropriate training requirements, must be extraordinarily thorough and robust, to ensure that our regulators, customers, and the flying public have confidence in the 737 Max updates.”
As reported by the BBC, a congressional hearing last week was told that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was aware that, following the Lion Air crash in October 2018, there was a risk of further accidents, with an analysis suggesting that there could be over a dozen more crashes over the aircraft’s lifetime unless significant changes were made to its design.
The grounding of the 737 Max has cost Boeing around US$ 9 billion. Prior to the announcement of the production suspension, Boeing’s stock price fell more than 4% on Monday. (MS)