Ethiopian Airlines plans to resume flying Boeing 737 MAX planes, with its first flight scheduled to be on February 2022. This comes as aviation companies across the world add 737 max back into their schedules.
The aircraft was grounded worldwide on March 13, 2019, after two crashes, one in Indonesia in 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in 2019, that killed a combined total of 346 people.
"Safety is our top most priority at Ethiopian Airlines and it guides every decision we make and all actions we take," said Tewolde Gebremarima, chief executive officer of the Airlines.
It is in line with this guiding principle that the Airlines returning the B737 MAX to service, not only after the recertification by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), EASA of Europe, Transport Canada, CAAC, ECAA and other regulatory bodies but also after the return to service by more than 34 airlines around the world, according to the CEO.
"In line with our initially stated commitment to become among the last airlines to return the B737 MAX, we have taken enough time to monitor the design modification work," he added.