Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet is reported to restart Boeing 737 MAX aircraft flights by March 2021.
“We have been told by our sources that SpiceJet is expected to resume 737 MAX operations by March 2021,” local media reported on January 15, 2021.
#Exclusive | Sources say, #SpiceJet is expecting to resume MAX aircraft operations by March after it was grounded in March 2019. @awnusharma has the details pic.twitter.com/9oSHBXCm6Q
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) January 15, 2021
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is likely to conduct its own checks of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approves MAX, according to CNBC-TV18.
In November 2020, DGCA said it would study the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decision to unground the aircraft and take “some time” before the Directorate would issue the final approval of Boeing 737 MAX flight operations.
Currently, SpiceJet has 13 Boeing 737 MAX, which have been parked since the aircraft’s worldwide grounding in March 2019. In addition, the airline has 15 MAX aircraft that are built but not yet delivered, according to planespotters.net data.
On November 18, 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States ungrounded the Boeing 737 MAX, allowing it to enter commercial service in the country again. Three airlines are now flying the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on commercial passenger flights: GOL Airlines, Aeromexico and American Airlines (A1G) (AAL).