The ongoing grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max has U.S. carriers that fly the embattled jets canceling flights into the new year.
Southwest Airlines announced Thursday is would revise its flight schedule to remove the 737 Max until Feb. 8, 2020, as it remains unclear when the planes will return to commercial service. The change will affect an average of 175 weekday flights, the Dallas-based company said.
“By proactively removing the MAX from scheduled service, we can reduce last-minute flight cancellations and unexpected disruptions to our customers’ travel plans,” Southwest said.
The revision to Southwest’s flight schedule follows announcements from American Airlines and United Airlines last week informing customers they would be removing the 737 Max from their respective schedules into January.
American said it expects the planes will be recertified later this year and return to the skies early in 2020.
The Federal Aviation Administration, following its international counterparts, grounded Boeing’s fleet of 737 Max in mid-March after two fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia, which killed all 346 passengers on board.
Implicated in the crashes was the 737 Max’s anti-stall system, known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. The software fed the plane’s computer system inaccurate data on its angle of attack, which led to a struggle between the system and the pilot.
Boeing completed a software fix for the anti-stall system in May, and the aerospace giant is waiting approval from the FAA to end the grounding.
