Boeing 737 MAX may not return to service until August

Mark RALSTON / AFP

The grounded Boeing 737 Max fleet isn’t expected to return to the skies for at least another two months or more.

That's according to the airline industry’s main trade body, which said the final decision on the timing rested with regulators.

"We do not expect something before 10 to 12 weeks in re-entry into service," Alexandre de Juniac, the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said at an event in South Korea Wednesday, before adding: "But it is not our hands. That is in the hands of regulators."

The 737 MAX was grounded globally in March following two crashes within five months.

More from International news

  • Putin visits Kursk region for first time since Ukrainian incursion

    President Vladimir Putin donned military fatigues for a surprise visit to troops in Russia's western Kursk region on Wednesday where he ordered them to press their lightning advance and swiftly retake the rest of the area from Ukrainian forces. 

  • NASA, SpaceX delay flight that was to retrieve stuck astronauts

    NASA and SpaceX on Wednesday delayed the launch of a replacement crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station that would have set in motion the long-awaited homecoming of U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

  • Duterte takes responsibility for Philippines drug war

    Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he takes full responsibility for his administration's "war on drugs", in a video message posted on his Facebook account, as he braces for a legal battle at the International Criminal Court.

  • Arab states and US discuss Gaza reconstruction plan

    Officials from Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine agreed to continue consultations on their Gaza reconstruction plan with US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, it was announced after a meeting in Qatar on Wednesday.

News