Alaska Airlines announced the return of Boeing 737 MAX 9

American airline Alaska Airlines confirmed that on Friday, January 26, flights of its Boeing 737 MAX 9, which was suspended on January 5 for a connection between Seattle and San Diego, were resumed.

According to a message posted on its website, the company said flight 1,146, scheduled for Friday, January 26, at noon, will gradually return to service its fleet of 65 737 MAX 9 aircraft. It must take off at 2:40 pm from Seattle (11:40 p.m. in Paris), Washington state, in San Diego, California, at 5:05 pm (2:05 am in Paris).

Alaska Airlines boss Ben Minicusi clarified Thursday during an audio conference call with analysts devoted to 2023 results that he expects those flights to resume on Friday. The fleet’s return to operations should last until early February.

On January 5, a door stopper came loose in the cabin of one of its Boeing 737 MAX 9s en route from Portland (Oregon) to Ontario (California). Airlines have the possibility to block doors when the number of existing emergency exits is sufficient in relation to the number of seats in the aircraft. The change is made to 171 of the 218 Boeing 737 MAX 9s delivered to date.

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Inspection should be completed “By the end of next week”

In the process, the American Aviation Regulatory Agency (FAA) suspended the aircraft so configured from flying until further notice. The regulator announced on Wednesday evening that it has a “huge” A maintenance and inspection program to allow these aircraft to return to the air. Once the established plan is complete “That the aircraft may return to service”

The FAA said without giving a date.

Alaska Airlines said Friday that inspections of its fleet — up to a dozen hours per aircraft — should be completed. “By the end of next week”. “This will allow us to fully manage our flight program”The company noted, which estimates that 3,000 flights will be canceled in January due to the suspension, for an estimated financial impact of 150 million dollars (138 million euros).

American company United Airlines, which has the largest fleet of these reconfigured models (79 aircraft), announced on Thursday that the first flight of one of its planes was scheduled for Sunday, while not ruling out a return to service. Earlier if necessary.

The US Transportation Safety Agency, responsible for determining the circumstances of the January 5 incident, told Agence France-Presse on Friday that one of its investigators was expected to return to the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, the same day. The investigation team will “Establish a timeline from the first stage of production of the cap door to the in-flight accident”

They will also review the documents related to the plane (production and maintenance), the agency said.

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The world with AFP