Airlines pull 737 Max from flight schedules after Boeing warning
A number of airlines have begun grounding Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft today after the planemaker warned 16 of its customers over a potential electrical problem with the model.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have pulled nearly 50 jets from their flight schedules on the back of the announcement.
United Airlines, Alaska Air, and West Jet have all also pulled a number of their 737 Max models from service today.
In a statement, the aerospace giant said it had asked customers to verify “that a sufficient ground path exists for a component of the electrical power system”.
Boeing added that it would inform customers of specific planes which could be affected by the issue.
But a spokesperson for the firm said that the issue was not related to the problems with the MCAS safety system which resulted in the model being grounded for 20 months.
After over a year and a half languishing in storage after two crashes killed nearly 350 people, Boeing’s flagship 737 Max was only recertified for flight last autumn.
Today’s announcement marks yet another blow for the model, the latest version of its bestsellong 737 family.
Southwest Airlines said 30 of its 58 737 Max 8 aircraft were affected by Boeing’s notification. The airline will swap any flights previously scheduled with the aircraft with other planes in its fleet.
American Airlines said it had pulled 17 of its most recently delivered 737 Max planes from schedules. It has 41 of the jets in total.
United has grounded 16 of its 30 planes, while Alaska Air has pulled all four of its aircraft. West Jet pulled just one of its 14 planes.