RPT - IATA Confident In Safety Regulators As Boeing 737 Max Returns To Service - Vice President

Muhammad Irfan Published March 16, 2021 | 11:10 AM

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2021) The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has "full confidence" in the safety regulators that have approved the Boeing 737 Max passenger aircraft's return to service, Sebastian Mikosz, the association's senior vice president for member and external relations, told Sputnik in an interview.

After a pair of crashes in 2018 and 2019, regulators across the world grounded the 737 Max as the aircraft was forced to undergo a comprehensive safety review to address issues with its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System.

The US Federal Aviation Administration this past November cleared the 737 Max to return to service once the necessary adjustments had been made, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Transport Canada both cleared the aircraft to return to the skies in January, pending the necessary changes. At present, more than 10 airlines are flying the 737 Max on commercial services.

"It is of course essential that the aircraft is considered safe. Safety is the industry's number one priority. We have full confidence in the safety regulators to have thoroughly investigated the aircraft and it would not be allowed to return to the skies unless it is safe," Mikosz said.

Boeing's 737 is one of the most successful passenger jets of all time, and the new Max iteration, which was launched in 2011, promised greater efficiency and lower running costs for airlines.

The manufacturer, as of February, had a backlog of more than 3,200 unfilled 737 Max orders, and Mikosz said that the aircraft had many advantages for the industry.

"The aircraft is an important one because it offers lower running costs and a lower environmental footprint," the IATA senior vice president said.

In October 2018, a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max crashed shortly after takeoff from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Another 157 people died when an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max jet crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa less than five months later.

The investigation into the two crashes uncovered lapses in Boeing's safety standards and an alleged "culture of concealment" at the aircraft manufacturer.