By YANGE IKYAA
Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest and leading Aviation Group, has returned its B737 MAX back to the sky with the airline’s board chairman and executives, ministers, ambassadors, government officials, journalists, as well as Boeing executives and customers onboard the first flight.
The airline has four B737 MAX planes in its fleet and 25 more on order, some of which will be delivered to the company in 2022.
The B737 MAX has already accumulated more than 349,000 commercial flights and close to 900,000 total flight hours since the resumption of its operation a year ago, and Ethiopian Airlines says it always follows rigorous and comprehensive processes to ensure that every plane in the sky is safe.
“Safety is the top most priority at Ethiopian Airlines and it guides every decision we make and all actions we take. It is in line with this guiding principle that we are now returning the B737 MAX to service not only after the recertification by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), EASA of Europe, Transport Canada, CAAC, ECAA and other regulatory bodies but also after the fleet type’s return to service by 36 airlines around the world,” said Ethiopian Group CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam.
“In line with our initially stated commitment to become among the last airlines to return the B737 MAX, we have taken enough time to monitor the design modification work and the more than 20 months of rigorous recertification process and we have ensured that our pilots, engineers, aircraft technicians and cabin crew are confident on the safety of the fleet.
The airline’s confidence is further showcased by flying the top executives and the board chairman and other top government officials on the first flight,” he concluded.
The airline claims it always prioritizes passenger safety and is confident that its customers will enjoy the onboard safety and comfort for which it has been known.
