Indonesia Gives The Green Light To Boeing 737 MAX Operations

Today, the Indonesian Ministry of Transport gave the green light for Boeing 737 MAX operations to resume in the country. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will lift the type's operating ban. Indonesia was the location of one of the fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that led to the type's grounding.

It's been over a year since the Boeing 737 MAX got the green light from the FAA to return to the skies. However, its operations are still prohibited in a handful of countries such as Russia. The list of banned countries is gradually growing smaller as more and more approve Boeing's latest narrowbody iteration for flight.

Indonesia recertifies the 737 MAX

Indonesia today revealed that it is recertifying the Boeing 737 MAX. The news comes a day after Ethiopian Airlines, also affected by the MAX tragedies, unveiled plans to resume flights with the type. 

The Indonesian Authorities are broadly implementing the requirements for the aircraft's return as listed by the FAA. However, the Directorate revealed that the country is not adopting the Stick Shaker Removal procedure. Commenting on the news, Director General of Civil Aviation Novie Riyanto remarked,

"We have coordinated with aviation authorities and operators from around the world, especially ASEAN. Until now, several countries have allowed the operation of the 737MAX aircraft again. Following this development, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is also conducting preparations to issue a letter lifting the operating ban on 737MAX aircraft."

As part of the move to recertify the type, the Directorate participated in flight tests held at the Boeing Flight Services Simulator in Singapore. These were also attended by the FAA and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Before operators can return their 737 MAX aircraft to the skies, they must carry out the FAA's airworthiness orders. It is understood that carriers in the country have already started these undertakings.

Which Indonesian airlines have the Boeing 737 MAX

Two Indonesian airlines have the Boeing 737 MAX in their fleets, according to data from ch-aviation.com. Garuda Indonesia has a single 4.07-year-old MAX 8 registered as PK-GDA. Meanwhile, having lost one of their aircraft in the first fatal MAX crash, Lion Air has nine aircraft.

The latest edition of the Boeing order book shows that Garuda Indonesia has unfilled orders for 49 jets, giving a total fleet of 50. Meanwhile, Lion Air has 237 outstanding Boeing 737 MAX orders, giving a total backlog of 237 aircraft. Once the grounding of the aircraft has been lifted, deliveries of the type will be able to resume, assuming that individual airlines are willing and ready to accept them. At least four aircraft due to go to Lion Air were built but not delivered in 2019.

Source : " Simply Flying "   by Tom Boon