China said on Thursday it gave Boeing permission last month to resume deliveries of its 737 MAX 8 to local customers, ending an import freeze on the U.S. planemaker’s most profitable jets which came shortly after its first delivery in 2019.
Boeing on Wednesday delivered its first 737 MAX to a Chinese airline since March 2019 – a 737 MAX 8 registered to China Southern Airlines which is currently on the ground in Hawaii on its way from the United States.
China’s green-light is a boost to the planemaker, which has been hit by the fallout from a mid-air blowout of a cabin panel on a 737 MAX 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines, including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration barring Boeing from expanding production of its best-selling narrowbody planes.
