Over the weekend, the commercial aviation industry was rocked by news of a depressurization incident involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9. The situation quickly escalated when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided to suspend all Boeing 737 MAX 9 operations in the country. This decision was subsequently replicated by other countries, including the European Union (EU), United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, Brazil, among others.
Following the FAA’s action, Aeromexico announced that its 19 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft would remain grounded until they pass the required technical review, affecting approximately 12% of its fleet of 153 aircraft. Other airlines such as Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Copa Airlines and Turkish Airlines followed suit.
In a subsequent statement, Aeromexico stated that they are in the final stages of inspecting their affected aircraft and will soon resume operations.
“In accordance with the directives and instructions of the relevant aviation authorities, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and manufacturer Boeing, we are in the final stages of a detailed inspection of these aircraft. We expect all MAX 9s in our fleet to return to operation in the coming days,” the airline stated.
See Also: FAA Issues Emergency Directive and Boeing 737 MAX-9s Suspended from Service Globally
According to Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2024-02-51, which grounded 171 of the 210 Boeing 737 MAX 9s operating worldwide, there are concerns about the possible in-flight loss of a center cockpit door plug, which could cause injury to passengers and crew and impact the door against the aircraft and/or cause loss of aircraft control.
So far, both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have found loose nuts on the disabled doors.
MAX 9 situation hurts flights to the U.S.
For Aeromexico, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 affectations strongly impact its flights to the United States. Mexican aviation had regained Category 1 status with the FAA in September 2023, which is why Aeromexico requested the Department of Transportation (DoT) to operate with the MAX 9 to the US.
According to information obtained by Aviacionline via Cirium, Aeromexico’s international schedule in January with the Boeing 737 MAX 9 includes flights to Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Medellin, Montreal, Orlando, San Francisco, San Jose, Costa Rica and Toronto. The airline also operates to more than 20 domestic destinations with that model.
However, it now cannot fly to the United States until the FAA lifts the ban on operating certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft in U.S. territory.
