NEW DELHI : India will follow a prudent approach in lifting a ban on commercial flights of Boeing Co.’s 737 MAX planes, the country’s civil aviation regulator said on Thursday.
“The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft has done more than 800 hours of test flight (since its grounding earlier this year),” Arun Kumar, director general of civil aviation (DGCA) said. Boeing is expected to approach US civil aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), for re-certification of the planes by October, he said.
The 737 MAX, considered a more fuel-efficient plane than its predecessor, was grounded by the DGCA on 13 March after aviation regulators worldwide grounded the plane following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX near Addis Ababa on 10 March, killing 157 people, including four Indians. Last October, a Boeing 737 MAX of Lion Air crashed, killing 180 people in Indonesia.
