The grounding of Boeing's troubled 737 Max aircraft is still in effect as regulators continue to deliberate on its recertification. According to aviation regulators, it may still be a couple of months before the aircraft can return to service. Aviation regulation officials have not pegged a specific date, but they did mention that the planes will likely return to the skies around August of this year.
Since the tragic crashes that killed 157 people in Ethiopia and another 189 people in Indonesia last year,
Boeing has been working around the clock to provide a fix for their defective flight software. The company has also been handling the massive backlash against it following the crashes, which has sent its shares spiraling downward.
As the company and aviation regulators work to fix the underlying safety concerns involving the aircraft, airlines around the world have grounded their 737 Max planes. Several airlines in China have already filed suits against the company, seeking to be compensated for the massive losses they have incurred because of the grounding.
According to a report citing sources close to the deliberations, it might still be another 10 to 12 weeks before the planes are put back in service.
This will, of course, translate to a significant loss for the company and various airlines, given that the peak season for flights in now well underway.
The chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, Alexandre de Juniac, mentioned in a recent interview that he hopes the regulators would provide a unified global timetable for the recertification of the aircraft.
This would likely only happen once authorities have properly laid out plans for the proper implementation of Boeing's proposed fixes. Boeing has also promised to drastically enhance its pilot training protocols in order to prevent the same incident from happening.
Various aviation authorities from around the world have launched their own investigation into the matter. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had recently invited different aviation safety agencies to cooperatively deliberate the plane's recertification.
Boeing has so far spent more than $1 billion since the fatal crashes. The company is still hemorrhaging money as it deals with numerous litigations and claims against it. Meanwhile, commercial and air freight businesses have shown a decline following the planes grounding.
According to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), air freight earnings have dropped by 4.7 percent year-on-year last month. Analysts have also stated that the increasing tensions between the United States and China also played a part in the decline in the cargo industry.
