The EU aviation watchdog sees the approval of the Boeing 737 Max in January

FILE – In this file from March 14, 2019, a worker walks beside a Boeing 737 MAX 8 parked at Seattle’s Boeing Field. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren, File)

The European aviation safety regulator is likely to approve the return of the Boeing Co. 737 Max in January after studies and test flights showed that the U.S. planemaker repaired the failures that caused fatal crashes.

“All these studies show us that the plane can be back in service,” Patrick Ky, head of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, said in an interview with LaTribune.fr on Saturday. “It is likely that, in our case, we will take the decisions that will allow us to put it back into service during January”.

The EU approval will mark a milestone in Boeing’s effort to return the Max to service outside the United States after the Federal Aviation Administration granted final clearance for the jet’s return this week. The green light from EASA, which has sought additional security measures beyond what the FAA requested, would allow Boeing to resume delivering aircraft already built in a region with major customers including Ryanair Holdings Plc.

Ky reported in October that he was pleased with the changes Boeing had made to the plane after two crashes in five months killed 346 people, leading to the global grounding of the 737 Max fleet in March 2019.

Support from European regulators is seen as key to Boeing’s effort to gain global support for the aircraft, after the Max crisis damaged the FAA’s reputation as a leader in aviation safety.

“What is sure to change is how we certify Boeings,” the EU’s chief aviation regulator said on Saturday. This shouldn’t lead to longer certification processes, he said.

Certification process

The European watchdog will carry out its own assessment of critical safety systems and will require assessments to be done earlier than before in the certification process, Ky added.

EU approval would authorize Boeing to begin delivering the Max outside the United States, a pivotal move to unlock some $ 12 billion in cash that is tied to hundreds of airliners built during global entrenchment.

“We have started preparing measures that will allow him to return to service,” Ky said. “After looking at the plane all around, even with test flights, we can say that the plane is safe.”

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