A Boeing 737 Max jet Photo: IC

China Southern Airlines restarted the 737 MAX flights on Friday, the first commercial services for the model since a grounding in March of 2019, data from information provider VariFlight showed. 

The scheduled flights are domestic from the southern city of Guangzhou to Zhengzhou and Wuhan in Central China.

China had suspended commercial flights of the Boeing 737 MAX since March 2019 after two fatal crashes.

In September 2022, China's aviation regulator and Boeing held a meeting, saying that China is about to finish the process for re-introducing the Boeing 737 MAX.

The meeting reviewed the improved aircraft training plans for the 737 series and it is expected the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) will release the second version of the review report when the questions raised at the meeting are resolved, CAAC Journal reported.

China has maintained that for the plane to resume commercial services, aircraft modifications must be approved for airworthiness, and pilots must be fully retrained to fly the model. The authority also demanded that the findings of investigations into the two fatal air tragedies should be made available and the defects, which caused the incidents, be addressed.

An article posted on the WeChat account of Boeing China on August 17 of 2022 said that preparations have been made for the resumption of deliveries of the 737 MAX.

Boeing Co reported a sharp jump in airplane orders and deliveries in 2022 but trailed Airbus for the fourth straight year as its European rival trounced the US manufacturer more than tenfold in the Chinese market, Reuters reported on Wednesday. 

Global Times