Addis Ababa, December 17, 2019 (FBC) –Boeing said it will suspend 737 MAX production starting in January due to certification moving into 2020.
In a statement issued yesterday, the company said “safely returning the 737 MAX to service is our top priority.”
“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 we have previously said, the FAA and global regulatory authorities determine the timeline for certification and return to service. We remain fully committed to supporting this process. It is our duty to ensure that every requirement is fulfilled, and every question from our regulators answered.
“Throughout the grounding of the 737 MAX, Boeing has continued to build new airplanes and there are now approximately 400 airplanes in storage, the statement noted.
“We have previously stated that we would continually evaluate our production plans should the MAX grounding continue longer than we expected.
“As a result of this ongoing evaluation, we have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 program beginning next month.”
It is to be recalled that more than 300 people died when two 737 Max aircraft crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia.
Boeing is one of the largest US exporters.