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Suspension of 21 Boeing 737 MAX 9s affects more than 20% of Copa Airlines’ operations

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The suspension of 21 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft affects more than 20% of the operation of Copa Airlines, which is waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to approve technical documentation to begin the inspection process that will allow their safe return, the airline’s CEO, Pedro Heilbron, said Tuesday.

Copa suspended operations of 21 aircraft on January 6 after the FAA ordered the measure for 171 aircraft operated in the U.S. and other countries, following an incident the day before with an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 that lost one of its emergency doors mid-flight.

“This measure implied for Copa the temporary suspension of 21 of our aircraft, which has forced us to cancel around 80 daily flights or more than 20% of our operation, affecting thousands of passengers,” Heilbron said in a statement released by video.

Copa is waiting for the FAA to approve the necessary technical documentation to begin the mandatory aircraft inspection process, according to the leader of Panama’s flagship airline.

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This review by the U.S. authority “is scheduled to take place this week,” added Heilbron, who clarified, however, that Copa is not certain “about its duration or when the affected aircraft would be authorized to operate again.

In any case, the airline’s technical operations team has conducted a preliminary inspection of the 21 MAX 9s and is prepared to comply with FAA guidelines in order to return to operations “as soon as possible in a safe and reliable manner,” he said.

Copa has implemented measures such as re-accommodating those affected on new flights as close as possible to the original date of travel and has eliminated charges for flight date changes or definitive cancellations to address this “complex reality” arising from a situation beyond the airline’s control, representatives said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ordered on Jan. 19 the grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX 9s “until they are safe,” a measure that followed the one issued on Jan. 6 by the FAA, which affected 171 aircraft, EFE reported.

“There is no specific date” as to when these planes will return to the skies, Buttigieg said at the time, while the FAA also announced the opening of an investigation into Boeing for the Alaska Airlines incident, which left no casualties.

According to data from aviation analyst firm Cirium, there are 215 MAX 9 aircraft in service worldwide.

Since 2015, Copa Airlines ordered 86 737 MAX aircraft from Boeing as part of a fleet modernization plan.

Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial líder en América Latina.

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