Boeing 737 Max to fly again in Indonesia following 3 year ban

JAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesia has lifted its ban on carrying passengers on Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, three years after one crashed into the Java Sea in 2018, killing all 189 people on board.

In a statement, the Indonesian Transportation Ministry said that after airlines carry out airworthiness directives, the aircraft will be allowed to fly in Indonesia.

Novie Riyanto, the ministry’s director-general of Civil Aviation, said the ministry will also conduct inspections before the aircraft are allowed to again operate.

“Several flight operators have stated that they have carried out airworthiness orders for 737 MAX aircraft, in accordance with FAA provisions, and will prepare training and simulators at the nearest facility, in Singapore,” he added.

The Boeing 737 Max was grounded by many governments after 346 people were killed in crashes involving a Lion Air flight in Indonesia on 29th October, 2018, and an Ethiopian Airlines flight on 10th March, 2019.

After investigators blamed a computer system that could not be overridden by pilots and pushed the plane’s nose downward during flight, Boeing conducted technical upgrades to fix the problem.

After the U.S. allowed flights to resume in December 2020, China became the last major market to approve the Boeing 737 Max earlier this month. European Union regulators gave permission in January, and Brazil and Canada also approved use of the aircraft.

However, Anton Sahadi stressed that he regrets the government decision to let the 737 Max fly again, after his cousins Muhammad Rafi Ardian and Rian Ariandi died in the 2018 crash.

“The government has to ensure that the aircraft meets safety standards so that similar incidents do not happen again,” he said, according to ABC News.

“I do not see the urgency yet for Boeing’s 737 Max aircrafts to fly again in Indonesia. Families of victims still have not finished the process of resolving problems with Boeing,” he added, referring to complaints by some families of crash victims that a $2.5 billion settlement between Boeing and the U.S. Department of Justice excluded them from involvement in negotiating their compensation.