Boeing 737 MAX: What airlines, regulators are doing about these jets

The latest blow for Boeing’s top-selling 737 MAX aircraft occurred on Friday when a cabin panel blowout forced an Alaska Airlines flight to make an emergency landing.

U.S. regulators have ordered a temporary grounding of certain planes for safety checks. That is not as severe a move as the grounding of all MAX-family jets worldwide nearly five years ago following two fatal crashes.

About 215 737 MAX 9 jets are in service worldwide, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Only about 171 feature the plug door that was blown out during the flight.

Other models include an additional emergency evacuation door.

Here’s what regulators and airlines are doing as a result of the issue:

REGULATORS:

U.S. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA):

The FAA issued a directive on Saturday temporarily grounding certain 737 MAX 9 airplanes until inspections are performed, affecting 171 airplanes.

U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB):

The independent U.S. agency has opened an investigation.

BRAZIL:

Brazil’s aviation regulator ANAC said on Sunday the FAA ruling automatically applies to all flights in Brazil.

In Brazil, only Copa Airlines operates the plane on international flights arriving and departing the Guarulhos Airport in Sao Paulo, it said.

CANADA:

Transport Canada on Sunday said there are no Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes in use by Canadian operators.

CHINA:

China’s regulator has sought details on the incident, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday. Bloomberg reported earlier that China, the first country to ground MAX flights in 2019, was considering whether to take action.

EUROPEAN UNION:

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) adopted the FAA directive, but noted no EU member state airlines operate an aircraft with the affected configuration.

INDIA:

India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Monday that inspections of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft had been performed satisfactorily. The regulator had ordered onetime inspections of the emergency exits on all Boeing 737 8 MAX aircraft operating in their fleet on Saturday. None of the country’s airlines have the 737 9 MAX model.

UK:

The UK Civil Aviation Authority said on Saturday there are no UK-registered planes affected. It will require any 737 MAX 9 operators entering its airspace to comply with the FAA directive.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

The civil aviation said on Sunday that none of its national carriers have planes affected by the order.

AIRLINES:

ALASKA AIRLINES:

The airline grounded its entire 65 MAX 9 fleet early on Saturday, but later returned 18 to service following earlier maintenance checks on the FAA’s order.

The carrier said it had cancelled 170 flights on Sunday with 60 more flights being cancelled on Monday following the FAA order.

After an emergency landing forced one of its planes on the ground on early Saturday, the airline halted flights by 18 additional MAX 9 planes on Sunday after an FAA directive.

UNITED AIRLINES:

The only other U.S. airline that operates the jets on Saturday said it temporarily suspended service on all 737 MAX 9 aircraft to run inspections required by the FAA.

Earlier, it had said that of its 79 MAX 9 airplanes, about 33 had already been inspected as required by the aviation regulator.

United cancelled 230 flights on Sunday, or 8% of scheduled departures.

COPA AIRLINES

Panamanian carrier said on Saturday it had temporarily grounded 21 737 MAX 9 aircraft and that it “expects to return these aircraft safely and reliably to the flight schedule within the next 24 hours.” Some delays and cancellations are expected.

As of end-September, the carrier had 26 737 MAX 9 in its fleet, but operates them in two different configurations.

FIJI AIRWAYS

The Fijian flag carrier said on Monday it was unaffected by the FAA grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

FLYDUBAI:

The airline said on Sunday that its three Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes were not affected. It operates the aircraft with a deactivated mid-aft exit door configuration, which is not affected by the directive.

TURKISH AIRLINES

The airline said on Sunday it has withdrawn five aircraft from service for inspection. The planes will be grounded at the first airport they land at.