The FAA Prohibits Boeing from Expanding 737 Production, But Allows the 737 MAX 9 to Resume Flying with Conditions
Published: 26/01/2024 – 00:06
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on January 24th that Boeing will not be permitted to expand production of the 737 MAX after a door jam burst on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 in flight. However, the regulator has stated that Boeing can potentially expand production during inspection procedures.
The incident occurred on January 5th when a door jam in the cabin of an Alaska Airlines passenger plane burst and fell off shortly after takeoff. This resulted in the grounding of 171 737 MAX 9 jets and the cancellation of thousands of flights by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.
In response to the incident, the FAA stated that it needed to halt the expansion of production of Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX family of narrow-body jets in order to ensure accountability for the planemaker and to ensure compliance with required quality control procedures.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker stated, “We will not agree to any request from Boeing to expand production until we are confident that the quality control issues discovered during this process have been resolved. Nor will the company be approved to increase the production line of the 737 MAX.”
The MAX family includes the best-selling 737 MAX 8, which is a significant source of revenue for Boeing. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun had previously announced plans to increase production to 38 MAX aircraft per month by the end of 2023.
In addition to prohibiting the expansion of production, the FAA also outlined inspection and maintenance processes to return grounded MAX 9 aircraft to service.
Following the announcement from the FAA, Boeing shares fell about 4% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The impact of the FAA’s decision on near-term production plans for Boeing remains uncertain.