Boeing 737 Max Aircraft Gets Approval To Operate Commercial Flights In India, DGCI Rescinds Ban After 2 Yrs

The Boeing 737 Max aircraft was grounded worldwide in 2019 after two fatal crashes.

(Representative Image/Getty)

New Delhi: After grounding the Boeing 737 Max aircraft for over two years, Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday rescinded its ban on commercial flight operations. 

The Boeing 737 Max aircraft was grounded worldwide in 2019 after two fatal crashes.

A senior DGCA official confirmed news agency PTI that the ban on 737 Max planes' commercial flight operations has been lifted.

The move by DGCA comes months after the civil aviation regulator partially lifted the operational ban on the aircraft in April. During that time, conditional approval was granted to foreign airlines to operate the aircraft through Indian air space with prior approvals.

However, the aircraft was then not allowed to operate flights to India.

"Operational prohibition will not apply to foreign-registered Boeing 737 Max aircraft, currently grounded in India, for performing 'Operational Readiness' flight followed by ferry flight outside India, subject to obtaining permission from the regulatory authority of the State of Registry and DGCA for conduct of such flights," the April order of DGCA read.

In India, SpiceJet is the only operator of Boeing 737 Max, having 13 such aircraft in its fleet.

All Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded in India by DGCA on March 13, 2019, after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max plane on March 10 near Addis Ababa which had killed 157 people, including four Indians.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has been modifying the 737 Max plane since March 2019, so that various countries' regulators, including the DGCA, permit its passenger flight operations again.