Boeing announced it had resumed production of its 737 Max jet nearly eight weeks after production had been halted due to a machinist strike at the company. Factories in Washington state were idle from September to mid-November.
After visiting the factories, Federal Aviation Administration head Mike Whitaker credited Boeing with following safety principles.
After previous strikes, the company resumed production without precautions. Boeing said it has focused on safety and retrained some of its workers.
The 737 Max, the company’s best-selling aircraft, was the center of two fatal crashes.
In 2018, 189 passengers died when a 737 Max aircraft crashed off the coast of Indonesia. Months later, in early 2019, another flight crashed in Ethiopia, killing 147 people.
The FAA grounded all 737 Max jets pending investigation. It later lifted that grounding in November 2020.
In January 2024, a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines aircraft mid-flight. The pilots landed the plane safely, but the incident caused the FAA to ground the 737 Max 9 aircraft for about three weeks.
It was the first of several Boeing incidents this year.
As for sales, Boeing said it delivered nine Max jets in November. This is the lowest figure the company has produced since 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2024, Boeing delivered 318 planes, including 243 of the 737 Max. Boeing’s biggest rival, Airbus, made 84 deliveries in November and 643 planes through November.
