South Korea ungrounds 737 MAX

The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) has allowed the resumption of B737 MAX operations in the country as of November 22, 2021.

The regulator instructed all current and prospective Korean MAX operators to implement all changes mandated by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in November 2020. It did not impose any other requirements but promised rigorous monitoring. It underlined that global data collected over the last year, after airlines in other parts of the world resumed their own B737 MAX operations, proved that the changes were so far sufficient to ensure safety.

However, the decision has little practical importance to financially troubled Eastar Jet. The LCC, which is in the process of recertification, reduced its fleet from twenty-one B737 aircraft before the COVID-19 pandemic to just four: two B737-800s dry-leased from World Star Aviation and two B737-8s dry-leased from Minsheng Financial Leasing, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.

Under new ownership, the airline intends to focus on the B737NG aircraft and will return both MAX 8s to their lessor. To replace them, Eastar Jet plans to dry lease another B737-800. The LCC hopes to restart domestic scheduled flights in February 2022.

Besides Eastern SkyJets (EE, Dubai Int’l), future South Korean B737 MAX operators will include Jeju Air and Korean Air, which have firm orders for forty and thirty B737-8s, respectively.

South Korea’s decision to unground the B737 MAX leaves China as the world’s last major jurisdiction yet to recertify the jet.