CBM: Scindia to travel on a Boeing 737 Max; SpiceJet to start flights on it soon

NEW DELHI: Union aviation minister J M Scindia will on Tuesday travel on a Boeing 737 Max, according to SpiceJet.
The Gurgaon-based airline had last week performed operational readiness flight on one of its 13 Max and then flew its employees on a special flight to Varanasi.
Tuesday’s special flight to Gwalior with the minister and airline promoter Ajay Singh, among others, on board is being seen as a signal that Indian aviation authorities have allowed the plane to fly after doing the required due diligence for safety.
SpiceJet will soon thereafter resume regular commercial flights using the Max.
Acceptance of Max by India’s air travellers is crucial for Boeing and its customer airlines. While SpiceJet had placed order for 155 Max some years ago and has so far got 13 of them, billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s upcoming airline Akasa has ordered 72 of these planes. So the coming years could see lots of Max flying here.