[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The Australian government has lifted the flight ban on the US Boeing passenger aircraft model 'B737 Max,' which had been prohibited from operating due to a series of crash accidents, after two years.
According to major foreign media, the Australian aviation regulatory authority announced on the 26th that it would approve the resumption of operations for the B737 Max model, making it the first in the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) of Australia banned the operation of the B737 Max 8 model within the country in March 2019 due to safety concerns raised by two crash accidents.
Graham Creedy, CASA Chief, said in a statement, "We are confident that the 737 Max aircraft is safe."
Earlier, the UK and European Union (EU) aviation regulatory authorities also approved the resumption of operations for this model at the end of last month. Patrick Ky, Chief of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), stated, "After extensive analysis, we have concluded that the 737 Max can safely resume service."
He added, "This evaluation was conducted completely independently from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and any political or economic pressures."
The US Boeing B737 Max model crashed in October 2018, just three years after its launch, when a passenger aircraft of the same model belonging to Indonesia's Lion Air crashed during flight, killing all on board.
In March of the following year, an Ethiopian Airlines passenger aircraft crashed while flying from Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya, killing all passengers and crew. Subsequently, Australia, along with Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, and the EU, suspended operations of this model.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
