China’s first Boeing 737 MAX flight takes off after being grounded nearly 4 years following crashes
- China grounded the Boeing 737 MAX in March 2019 after deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia occurred less than five months apart, killing 346
- While other countries have been resuming 737 MAX flights since 2020, China is the last major aviation market to give it the all-clear
The Boeing 737 MAX returned to service in China on Friday, after being grounded in the country for nearly four years following two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
China Southern Airlines domestic flight CZ3960 departed at 12:45pm from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, and landed at 2:55pm in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, according to the Flightradar24 flight tracker.
Senior executives at Boeing last year expressed pessimism about resuming 737 MAX deliveries in China, saying the company would start to remarket some 737 MAX jets earmarked for Chinese customers.
“We defer to the airlines on their flight operations,” said a Boeing spokeswoman when asked about the resumption of Boeing 737 MAX on Friday.
China was the first country to ground the 737 MAX in March 2019 after 346 people died in the crashes less than five months apart, before the narrow-body passenger jet was grounded worldwide.
The resumption of [737 MAX] flights indicates that it has met ... principles that the CAAC repeatedly underscored
Countries including the United States have been resuming flights of the 737 MAX since late 2020, making China the last major aviation market to allow the Boeing passenger jet to return to service.
