The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects it could take until August before the Boeing Co 737 MAX returns to service.
The 737 MAX was grounded globally in March after a crash in Ethiopia killed all 157 people on board. That crash came five months after a crash involving the model killed 189 people.
“We do not expect something before 10 to 12 weeks in re-entry into service,” IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac told reporters in Seoul. “But it is not our hands. That is in the hands of regulators.”
IATA plans to organize a summit with airlines, regulators and the manufacturer in 5 to 7 weeks to discuss what is needed for the 737 MAX to return to service, he said.
According to Reuters’ sources, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expects to approve the jet’s return to service as soon as late June.
U.S. operators United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines have removed the planes from their flight schedules until early to mid-August.
