Certification work for the Boeing 737 MAX, grounded since March 2019 after two fatal accidents, is being finalised and a return to service in Europe “by the end of the year” is planned, said Patrick Ky, the boss of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
“I can say that we are seeing the end of the work on the MAX and we are starting to look at how to be able to reset in service the MAX by the end of the year“, explained Patrick Ky.
The 737 MAX has been banned since 13 March 2019 after two crashes (Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines) that together killed 346 people due to a malfunction of a security system.
The aircraft completed a series of certification flights, first at the end of June by the US FAA, then in early September by the EASA. However, more steps are necessary before the authorities grant their authorisation, in particular the training of pilots.
“On the technical side we are counting on being ready during November,” said Patrick Ky. On the operational part, “it will take a little longer depending on the States” because the resumption of flights will depend “on each of the airlines, on each of the States“.
