Europe’s aviation safety regulator is poised to clear Boeing Co.’s 737 Max for a return to service in the region next week, marking the next major step in the jet’s global comeback after two deadly crashes.
The final airworthiness directive will lay out required changes to the aircraft and include added pilot training requirements, European Union Aviation Safety Agency Executive Director Patrick Ky said Tuesday in an online roundtable with reporters.
“We believe we know what happened in the Max accidents,” Ky said. “We are confident that the safety criteria has been met.”
Airlines in the U.S. and Brazil began to restart commercial flights with the Max late last year, after regulators there cleared the jet’s return.
Gaining EASA’s blessing would open up another major market for the single-aisle workhorse, while helping to build global support for the revamped jet after the Max crisis dented the standing of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration as the leader in air safety.
