On April 11, 2021, the UAE’s flydubai confirmed its 14 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft were not affected by a possible electrical glitch, following Boeing notification to 16 737 MAX operators regarding the potential issue.
“Following a briefing from Boeing we can confirm that none of flydubai’s fleet of MAX aircraft are affected,” a flydubai spokesperson told AeroTime News.
On April 9, 2021, Boeing sent out recommendations for 16 Boeing 737 MAX operators to address a potential electrical system issue prior to operating the specific group of 737 MAX aircraft.
The American aircraft manufacturer said it was “closely” in contact with the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding a potential “manufacturing issue that could affect the operation of a backup power control unit”. The new problem, according to the regulator, is not related to the flight control system error that contributed to two fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.
“Boeing notified the FAA that it is recommending that operators of certain Boeing 737 MAX airplanes temporarily remove them from service to address a manufacturing issue that could affect the operation of a backup power control unit,” the FAA spokesperson told AeroTime News on April 9, 2021.
The potential safety concern of a specific group of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft came five months after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ungrounded the aircraft in the United States The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority lifted its ban in February 2021, but the only airline in the country which has the MAX in its fleet ‒ flydubai ‒ returned the aircraft type to service on April 8, 2021.