Alaska
Airlines
N704AL
is
seen
grounded
in
a
hangar
at
Portland
International
Airport
in
Portland,
Oregon,
on
Jan.
9,
2024.
Mathieu
Lewis-rolland
|
Getty
Images
The
Federal
Aviation
Administration
on
Wednesday
halted
Boeing‘s
planned
expansion
of
its
737
Max
aircraft
production,
but
it
cleared
a
path
for
the
manufacturer’s
Max
9
to
return
to
service
in
the
coming
days,
nearly
three
weeks
after
a
door
plug
blew
out
during
an
Alaska
Airlines
flight.
“Let
me
be
clear:
This
won’t
be
back
to
business
as
usual
for
Boeing,”
said
FAA
Administrator
Mike
Whitaker
in
a
statement
Wednesday.
“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.”
Boeing
has
been
scrambling
to
ramp
up
output
of
its
best-selling
aircraft
as
airlines
clamor
for
new
jets
in
the
wake
of
the
Covid-19
pandemic.
“We
will
continue
to
cooperate
fully
and
transparently
with
the
FAA
and
follow
their
direction
as
we
take
action
to
strengthen
safety
and
quality
at
Boeing,”
the
company
said
in
a
statement.
Boeing
shares
were
down
roughly
1%
in
after-hours
trading
after
the
FAA’s
announcement.
The
FAA
on
Wednesday
also
said
it
approved
inspection
instructions
for
the
Max
9
aircraft. Airlines had
been
awaiting
that
approval
to
review
their
fleets
to
return
those
planes
to
service.
The
FAA
grounded
the
737
Max
9
planes
after
a
fuselage
panel
blew
out
as
Flight
1282
climbed
out
of
Portland,
Oregon,
on
Jan.
5.
The
grounding
forced
United
Airlines
and
Alaska
Airlines,
the
two
U.S.
airlines
with
the
planes,
to
cancel
hundreds
of
flights.
Alaska
said
it
would
resume
737
Max
9
flights
on
Friday
“with
more
planes
added
every
day
as
inspections
are
completed
and
each
aircraft
is
deemed
airworthy.”
United
plans
to
return
the
planes
to
service
beginning
on
Sunday,
according
to
a
message
to
employees
from
Chief
Operating
Officer
Toby
Enqvist.
“In
the
days
ahead,
our
teams
will
continue
to
proceed
in
a
way
that
is
thorough
and
puts
safety
and
compliance
first,”
Enqvist
said
in
the
internal
message.
The
CEOs
of
both
carriers
have
expressed
frustration
with
Boeing
after
the
issue,
the
most
serious
in
a
recent
spate
of
apparent
manufacturing
flaws
on
Boeing
aircraft.
The
aircraft
on
the
Alaska
flight
was
delivered
late
last
year.
The
FAA
is
investigating
Boeing’s
production
lines
after
the
Alaska
flight.
Whitaker
told
CNBC
on
Tuesday
that
the
FAA
will
keep
“boots
on
the
ground”
at
Boeing’s
factory
until
the
agency
is
convinced
quality
assurance
systems
are
working.
He
said
the
agency
is
switching
to
a
“direct
inspection”
approach
with
Boeing.
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