Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has lifted the temporary suspension on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operating to or from Australia, AirlinerWatch reports.
While no Australian airlines currently operate the Boeing 737 MAX, two foreign airlines flew these aircraft types to Australia before the COVID-19 pandemic – Singapore-based SilkAir (now Singapore Airlines) and Fiji Airways.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recently issued a return to service airworthiness directives for the Boeing 737 MAX.
CASA’s Acting CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Graeme Crawford said the initial suspension had been in the best interests of aviation safety.
“CASA was one of the first civil aviation regulators in the world to suspend Boeing 737 MAX operations. We took early action based on the information we had to ensure our skies remained safe while the cause of the accidents was investigated,” Mr. Crawford said.
“We have accepted the comprehensive return-to-service requirements specified by the FAA as the State of Design for the 737 MAX and are confident that the aircraft is safe.
“Our airworthiness and engineering team has assessed there are no additional return to service requirements for operation in Australia.
“With COVID-19 continuing to disrupt international air travel, there is currently no indication when Singapore airlines and Fiji Airways will resume their operations to Australia.”
