Boeing keeps pressure on US Congress to extend 737 MAX 10 certification deadline

According to Ryanair, one of Boeing’s potential customers for the 737 MAX 10, the American planemaker looks unlikely to meet the current certification deadline for the jet in late December this year. The problem for Boeing is that back in 2020 new laws were introduced that required all planes that are manufactured and certified after the December deadline to have a new crew alerting system installed. The 2022 deadline was mandated by Congress as part of broader regulatory reforms at the FAA after fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed a total of 346 passengers and crew. Currently the 737 family of jets lack the Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System known as EICAS. When it became apparent in July this year that Boeing was unlikely to meet the December deadline, the company’s Chief Executive David Calhoun indicated that unless Congress waived the December deadline, Boeing might be forced to cancel the 737 MAX 10 altogether.

“I think Boeing accepts that it won’t get certified by year end, but I suspect that Congress will approve an extension to that certification process out into early 2023,” Ryanair Group Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said in an interview according to Reuters news agency. “It makes no sense to call on a company like Boeing to redesign the cockpit or redesign safety systems… So, I would urge Congress not to demand a redesign,” O’Leary added. In a statement, Boeing said it was “working transparently with the FAA to provide the information they need and are committed to meeting their expectations and those of our customers to certify and deliver the 737-10.”