Essential Information for Travelers Regarding the Grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9
Recent safety concerns following a terrifying incident involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft have left air travelers anxious Discover key details about the grounding, its impact on flight operations, passenger options, and answers to concerns regarding safety and identifying aircraft types
Alaska Airlines faced a terrifying incident on Friday when a hole appeared in the side of a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft shortly after it took off from Portland, Oregon. This has raised concerns about safety and has left potential air travelers feeling uneasy.
The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all US 737 Max 9 aircraft with the door plug feature, as investigators are focusing on the detachment of the mid-cabin door plug during the flight. These aircraft will undergo thorough inspections before being cleared to fly again.
Heres what we know so far about how the situation affects air travelers:
How long will the planes be grounded?
Uncertainty surrounds the timeline for when the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft with a mid-cabin door plug installed will be allowed to return to service in the US, as the FAA's Emergency Airworthiness Directive currently prohibits their flight. Boeing is currently in the process of updating its instructions for inspections and maintenance of the affected aircraft.
The FAA will conduct a comprehensive review upon receiving the updated instructions from Boeing. The timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service will be determined by the safety of the flying public, not speed. Aircraft will likely return to service individually after passing inspection.
The FAA order applies to the US. What about operations of this model elsewhere?
NTSB Investigator-in-Charge John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 Max, in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday.
NTSB/Handout/Reuters
The FAA's directive has resulted in 171 of the world's 737 Max 9 aircraft being grounded, out of the 215 currently in service. Some international carriers are operating models unaffected by the issue addressed in the FAA directive, as they do not have a mid-cabin door plug. However, other airlines with aircraft equipped with the door plugs have also grounded their planes, following the FAA's lead.
Mexico's Aeromexico and Panama's Copa Airlines are among the international carriers with the highest number of 737 Max 9 aircraft. Aeromexico announced that it has grounded its Max-9s in compliance with the FAA's directive, while Copa Airlines has suspended the operations of its 21 737 Max 9 aircraft until further notice. Turkish Airlines, which has five Max 9 aircraft, stated that it will remove the aircraft from its fleet until the technical investigation process is concluded and the necessary measures are implemented as requested by the authorities.
The FAA does not have control over some international carriers' aircraft operations, but those airlines often follow the agency's guidance. According to Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial airline pilot and aviation expert, the FAA is still seen as the benchmark for the industry worldwide.
How have flight operations been affected?
Hundreds of flights have been canceled since Friday on both United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, the two US carriers using 737 Max 9 aircraft.
Airlines have managed to reshuffle their aircraft and find alternative accommodations for some affected passengers. However, operations continued to be impacted by the grounding on Tuesday afternoon. Alaska Airlines reported over 100 canceled flights as of 3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Similarly, both Copa and Aeromexico have experienced a significant number of cancellations in the past few days, as reported by flight tracking site FlightAware.
What do I do if my flight is canceled because of this grounding?
Airlines that have more aircraft in their fleets typically find it easier to reassign planes to meet customer needs. The availability of spare planes can also be influenced by the capacity of the airports to accommodate a larger number of aircraft.
If an airline cancels or makes significant changes to your flight, you are entitled to a full cash refund under federal law, regardless of the cause, according to Scott Keyes, founder of travel site Going. He stated this in an email interview with CNN Travel on Tuesday.
"This is true across the board, even if you booked a nonrefundable fare (as most tickets are) and even if youre in basic economy," he said.
What if you still want to make your trip?
"If your flight is canceled or delayed," Keyes said, "the airline will arrange for you to be reaccommodated on another flight. The easiest way to make this happen is through the airline's mobile app, which has significantly improved in the last year or two. Alternatively, you can also contact the airline and a representative will rebook you at no extra cost."
Alaska and United, both US carriers operating affected planes, are now providing limited-time refunds to certain passengers. Specifically, Alaska is offering full refunds to anyone scheduled to fly on a 737 MAX-9 through January 20 if they choose not to travel, while United is offering the same opportunity through January 10.
Is it still safe to fly?
Adopting a cautious stance, David Soucie, a CNN aviation safety analyst and former FAA safety inspector, is refraining from passing judgment on the Boeing 737 Max 9 as the investigation endeavors to identify the precise root cause of the issue.
He stated in a CNN interview on Monday that he has not yet decided against flying on this aircraft if it is put back into service. Soucie has requested Boeing to provide additional information about the timing of the installation of the aircraft interior on the Alaska Airlines plane involved in the incident. This detail could indicate whether Boeing or the airline last worked on the door plug in question.
During a recent "all-hands" safety meeting at Boeing, a company source addressed the Alaska Airlines incident and stated that the assembly built through the supply chain was the key factor contributing to the incident. Specifically, the mechanism intended to hold a door plug in place ultimately separated from the plane.
The former airline pilot, Bangs, expressed understanding for people's frustrations and concerns about the situation, pointing out that it has only been a few years since the Boeing 737 Max 8 was returned to service after being grounded for nearly two years due to fatal crashes linked to issues with the aircraft's automated Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. Bangs commended the FAA for promptly grounding the Max 9 on Saturday, a decision that was delayed in the case of the Max 8. She noted that industry members had hoped the issue with the Alaska Airlines plane was an isolated incident rather than a more widespread problem.
United and Alaska Airlines both found more jets with loose hardware during their inspections on Monday.
"Now we can see that we have a quality control issue because these are airplanes from different time periods, different deliveries, and different airlines," Bangs stated.
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Bangs is confident that authorities will ensure the security of all the plugged doors. She understands why people are nervous about flying on the Max 8, given the problems it has had, but she is not nervous herself. She has spoken to pilots who fly this model and they like the planes, which gives her confidence in its safety. She believes that once an issue has been identified and addressed, the plane will be safe.
Is it currently safe for passengers to fly on Boeing Max jets? National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy personally inspected the damaged aircraft and told CNN, "Our focus right now is on this aircraft to determine what happened, how it happened, and to prevent it from happening again. Once we determine that, we can see if there's a greater concern that we want to issue an urgent safety recommendation for."
"Our aviation system Is the safest in the world. We are the gold standard for safety in our air space, but we need to maintain that," Homendy said. "And when an event occurs like this, it is up to us to take a close look at what happened to make sure we maintain safety in the air."
How can passengers figure out what type of plane theyll be on?
Bangs noted that potential passengers can view the type of equipment the flight is using in the "details" section at the time of booking a flight.
In an email interview, Keyes explained that "when you buy a flight, the receipt will indicate the aircraft you're scheduled to fly on (usually near the flight number)." Additionally, people can use the website ismyplanea737max.com to find this information, he added.
Keyes cautioned that last-minute changes may occur and aircraft swaps are a possibility. "It's worth noting that the model you originally scheduled to fly is typically, but not always, the same as the one you will ultimately fly," he said.
In such instances, Bangs suggested that passengers use the tail number of the plane at the gate to confirm the type of aircraft.
CNNs Paradise Afshar, Eva Rothenberg, Jordan Valinsky, Ross Levitt, Gregory Wallace and Pete Muntean contributed to this report.
