European aviation watchdog EASA to conduct Boeing 737 MAX flight tests this month

European aviation watchdog EASA has said it is likely to conduct flight tests of Boeing 737 MAX planes later this month, amid many airlines awaiting regulatory approvals to restart operations of these aircraft. In 2019, regulators banned flying MAX planes after two fatal accidents involving the aircraft. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also ordered grounding of these planes in India. SpiceJet is the only domestic carrier having MAX aircraft in its fleet. The budget airline grounded 13 such planes in March last year.

A European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) spokesperson said the regulator is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing to ensure the safety of 737 MAX planes. “As part of this, EASA will indeed conduct flight tests of the aircraft. Our current expectation is that these will take place some time later this month,” the spokesperson told PTI earlier this week.

However, the spokesperson did not specifically mention whether the flight tests would be conducted jointly with the FAA.