FAA Clears Path for Boeing 737 MAX-9 Aircraft to Return to Service, Halts Expansion

Alaska Airlines, United Airlines can resume services with the aircraft following thorough inspections now approved.

Alaska Airlines N704AL, a 737 Max 9, which made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on January 5 is parked on the tarmac in Portland, Oregon, on January 23, 2024. One of two door plugs on the emergency exit door blew out shortly after the plane took off from Portland. No fatalities or injuries were reported. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced January 11 it was launching a safety probe into Boeing's quality control. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

Federal air safety regulators granted approval on Jan. 24 for an inspection process that would allow grounded Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to return to service in the wake of a serious midair incident on an Alaska Airlines flight.

Mike Whitaker, head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), expressed confidence in the agency’s review of a door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX.