South Korea will soon unground the Boeing 737 MAX, becoming the latest country in Asia-Pacific to clear the aircraft. The Boeing 737 MAX will fly once again as soon as November 22, 2021.
The decision to lift the ban came after the country’s transport ministry made a thorough review on fixes made to the 737 MAX, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg on November 19, 2021.
AeroTime has asked MOLIT for a comment.
According to Boeing orders and deliveries data, the country’s flag-carrier Korean Air has 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on order while the low-cost airline Jeju Air has 40 737 MAXs on order.
Currently, the low-cost carrier Eastar Jet has a total of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, according to Planespotters.net.
The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after two deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia claimed 346 lives. The aircraft was first recertified in the United States and Brazil.
At the moment, China is one of the last major countries having not yet approved the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for commercial use.