South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air has announced the date when it will begin operating passenger flights with its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft following the jet’s arrival in Seoul, South Korea, on February 13, 2022. 

On February 14, 2022, Korean Air confirmed to media that it will start operating its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane in March 2022. According to Flightradar24.com data, a day before the announcement, on February 13, 2022, the 2.8-year-old jet, registered HL8348, was ferried from its storage site at Narita International Airport (NRT) in Japan to Gimpo International Airport (GMP) in South Korea. 

“We will put all efforts for its safe operation under the supervision of the Transport Ministry. Our safety and security office will serve as a comprehensive control tower for the plane’s safe operation,” a Korean Air spokesperson told The Korea Herald. 

The Seoul-based airline currently has a single jet of the type but plans to expand its MAX fleet with as many as 29 aircraft by 2028.  

Korean Air has had 30 Boeing 737 MAX planes on order since November 2015.  

However, the delivery of the planes was postponed because of the global grounding of the jet following 346 deaths across two fatal crashes: Lion Air flight 610 in October 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 in March 2019. 

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