After almost three years, Ethiopian Airlines has formalized the return of the Boeing 737 MAX to its regular operations.
The airline today Feb 1, conducted a B737MAX aircraft demonstration flight from Addis Ababa to Mount Kilimanjaro carrying the company directors, Ethiopian state officials, Boeing executives and journalists, among others.
The five hour non-stop flight with registration ET-AVI marked the return of the plane after the suspension of operations that occurred after flight ET302.
CEO of Ethiopian Tewolde GebreMariam said “Safety is our priority and guides every decision we make and action we take. We resume service of the 737 MAX not only after recertification by the FAA, EASA, CAAC, ECAA and other regulatory bodies, but also after the return to operations in 36 airlines around the world.”
“We take enough time to monitor the design modifications and the more than 20 months of rigorous work to recertify the aircraft, and we ensure that our crews, engineers, technicians and employees have confidence in the safety of the fleet,” he said.
Ethiopian Airlines has 4 Boeing 737 MAX in its fleet and an additional 25 aircraft on order, and expects to resume deliveries of the model during 2022.
