GCAA unsure when it may lift ban on Boeing 737s

Dubai: The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said on Thursday it is still unable to confirm when it will lift a ban on the commercial operations of Boeing 737 Max aircraft in the country.

Nearly two months after grounding the aircraft model, the GCAA said it “would not be able to give a date” for lifting the ban “until it has enough information to ensure passenger safety.”

The Authority said it is still “actively and closely working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the other authorities around the world for developments on 737-8 Max,” and that it is in the process of seeking more technical information on the software updates Boeing is rolling out.

The statement comes as operations of Boeing’s 737 Max model remains grounded across the world following two fatal crashes involving the model. In the UAE, flydubai is the only local carrier operating the model and has had to ground 13 of its aircraft as a result.

The low-cost airline said earlier that the impact of the grounding may be “significant” if it were to last much longer, with flydubai already having had to adjust its operations because of the groundings.

Elsewhere, other regulators across the globe are also yet to lift their ban on operations of 737 Max’s as they await software updates and pilot training from Boeing’s side.