On February 10, 2021, Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam indicated that the airline would restart Boeing 737 MAX operations in July 2021.
“We have been following up with our experts, technicians and pilots, and they seem to be satisfied that the modifications will fully address the flight-control system that was creating problems,” Tewolde said in a CAPA live conference.
Previously, Ethiopian Airlines CEO has repeatedly said that the airline would be the last to restart Boeing 737 MAX operations. However, after analyzing changes to the aircraft that crashed in the country almost two years ago, Ethiopian decided to continue with the aircraft.
Currently, Ethiopian Airlines has four Boeing 737 MAX 8s in its fleet, which have been parked at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD).
On March 10, 2019, the air carrier grounded its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, after Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 crashed due to the faulty aircraft system, which claimed the lives of all 157 people on board.
After 20-month of world-wide grounding, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States became the first authority to recertify the Boeing 737 MAX, allowing it to enter commercial service in the country again on November 18, 2020.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Transport Canada (TC), Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have also recertified the Boeing 737 MAX, allowing it to resume commercial service and carry people again.
