DGCA lifts ban on Boeing 737 Max aircraft after two-and-half years

Aviation safety regulator DGCA on Thursday allowed operations of Boeing 737 MAX planes, which were banned almost two-and-a-half years ago following two deadly crashes of this model that together killed 330 people. With India opening up the skies for the 737 MAX planes, China remains the only major aviation market to still have a ban in place.

Explaining the revocation of the ban, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in an order that 17 regulators worldwide have permitted operation of these aircraft, and 34 airlines with 345 planes of this model were operating currently having operated over 2.89 lakh cumulative hours since the ungrounding from December 9, 2020, “with no untoward reporting”.