Boeing Restarts New Plane Deliveries To China, Flight Tracking Data Reveals: Report

The delivery of new airplane from Boeing to China have been on and off repeatedly since 2019 when two of the planemaker’s MAX 8 jets were involved in fatal crashes

This recommencement is expected to help the planemaker which is also involved in a separate safety and quality crisis

Planemaker Boeing has reportedly started delivering new wide-body jets to China again after the deliveries were initially halted due to a Chinese regulatory review, media reports said.

Citing flight tracking data and two sources familiar with the matter, a report by Reuters said that the planemaker has resumed its deliveries to the country. The Chinese review had placed restrictions on both wide-body and narrow-body jet deliveries. Now, all the deliveries from the aircraft manufacturer to China are set to resume, the report noted.

Notably, the delivery of new airplane from Boeing to China have been on and off repeatedly since 2019 when two of the planemaker’s MAX 8 jets were involved in fatal crashes. This also led to an acceleration in tensions regarding issues such as technology, national security, etc between China and the United States.

This recommencement is expected to help the planemaker which is also involved in a separate safety and quality crisis. The company also flagged the delivery delay to its investors earlier.

The report cited the flight tracking platform, FlightRadar24, and said that on Friday, a brand new Boeing wide-body 777 freighter that was registered to Air China Cargo as B-223S departed from Everett Paine Field in Washington to Beijing. The planemaker has a factor based in Washington.

Further, on Sunday, the report said another new 777 freighter registered to Air China Cargo as B-223T left for Beijing. 

Notably, the orders and deliveries of Boeing planes were suspended by China in 2019 after the planemaker’s 737 MAX aircraft was grounded all across the globe following deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.

The media agency also reported that the US Justice Department is likely to levy criminal charges against the planemaker regarding fraud over the crashes. Notably, according to Boeing’s estimates, Chinese airlines would need 8,560 new commercial aircraft by 2042.