Air traffic with Boeing 737 Max aircraft will probably no longer commence this year. After two crashes of the type, the US air traffic control recently wants to obtain public statements at the end of its own test procedure. This causes new delays.
The Boeing 737 Max may not be able to fly and carry passengers before early next year. That would be almost two months later than expected. There are further regulatory delays, government officials and the aviation industry said.
This would put the popular and widespread commercial aircraft under David Calhoun, the manufacturer's new boss, on the ground at least as long as under his predecessor Dennis Muilenburg. After repeated delays in restarting the machine, he had to take his hat off at the end of 2019.
New FAA schedule
According to the government officials, the most recent schedule assumes that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will not complete its exams before the end of October or early November after the flight ban imposed in March 2019. The FAA had decided to seek public statements before completing the software and hardware changes process and releasing the aircraft. Supervisors around the world could take weeks to join in the decision.
The completion of the subsequent pilot training and maintenance – and the associated final FAA approval of the aircraft of the individual airlines – is expected to take well into December, said the officials. Only then could the Max – responsible for two crashes that cost a total of 346 people their lives – return to commercial service.
Problems with the flight simulator that pilots are trained on could drag the process even further. The start in passenger traffic could be delayed until February or beyond, said an industry representative familiar with the details.
Less need thanks to Corona
The coronavirus pandemic has further complicated the approval process. FAA representatives work from home, it is difficult to get pilots to take part in ground simulator tests. Boeing CEO Calhoun had long hoped that the Max would get its flight approval again by the third quarter.
Because of Covid-19, air traffic is restricted worldwide. Airlines hold thousands of aircraft on the ground and are now significantly less eager to reinstate their approximately 400 Max-Jets in their flight plans than before the pandemic. In addition to the machines that have already been delivered, there are just as many new machines at Boeing that have not yet been delivered to customers.
Over the next few weeks, a group of international pilots will take flight simulator tests to review more than half a dozen changes to checklists and cockpit emergency procedures. Experts from an external agency should analyze changes to the design separately.
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