Regulators have made it clear that the company will not receive permission to resume flights.
Boeing has announced it will suspend production of 737 MAX generation passenger aircraft from January 2020, The Guardian reports. This decision was made in connection with the opinion of the regulatory authorities.
Production of the 737 MAX aircraft continued despite two plane crashes: in Jakarta, Indonesia in October 2018 and near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in March this year. As a result of the tragedies, 346 people died, there were no survivors. Soon after these events, about 20 states, including Germany, Great Britain, Austria, France, Russia, Singapore, the United States, Vietnam and others, closed their airspace for Boeing 737 MAX flights.
As a result of subsequent investigations into the causes of disasters, experts identified numerous errors - from the design and operation of the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) maneuver correction system to the pilot training program itself.
All this time, the company has been working to eliminate the shortcomings and planned to return the aircraft to service by the end of the year. Boeing has 400 ready-made aircraft of this model in storage. However, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other bodies have not approved the continued use of the Boeing 737 MAX. Moreover, at a hearing in Congress last week it became clear that after the first crash of the 737 MAX, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a possible repeat of the tragedy - and it was not even an isolated incident, but 15 accidents.
“The safe return of the 737 Max to service is our priority,” the company said, meanwhile. “We know that the process for approving the 737 Max and determining the appropriate training requirements for pilots must be thorough and reliable so that our regulators, customers and interested public can have confidence in the updated 737 Max.”
According to representatives of the aircraft manufacturer, this decision will not entail a reduction in the number of employees, but will still affect suppliers. They promised to provide information regarding the financial side of the issue and, accordingly, losses at the end of January.