The 737 MAX is back. Boeing announced on Wednesday May 27 that it had resumed production of this plane, central to its survival, nailed to the ground for more than a year, after two close accidents that left 346 people dead.

"The 737 program has started to assemble devices again at a slow pace, while implementing more than a dozen initiatives aimed at improving the safety of the working environment and the quality of products," said on Wednesday. giant of Seattle.

However, its return to service is not imminent because Boeing must still obtain the green light from the civil aviation authorities on the modifications made, in particular on the MCAS anti-stall software implicated in the two accidents.

A test flight supervised by the regulators is indeed necessary. Regulatory sources told AFP last week that this flight test would not take place before June, which is likely to shake up the schedule of Boeing, which hopes to return to the sky of the 737 MAX "mid- 2020 ".

Job cuts

The group had suspended production of the 737 MAX in January, in an attempt to ease strong tensions between its former CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, and civil aviation authorities and client airlines.

This aircraft represents more than two thirds of the order book and is central to the medium-term survival of the aircraft manufacturer, which, like all air transport, is suffering from the health crisis.

In addition to the return to service, there are still uncertainties about the resumption of deliveries of the 737 MAX, suspended for a year. In the meantime, Boeing has started to detail on Wednesday the reduction of 16,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce via voluntary departures and dry layoffs, announced in April to save money.

With AFP

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