With the summer travel season underway, United Airlines says it will extend its cancellation of all Boeing 737 MAX flights until at least August.
This is the third time United has changed its deadline for not operating the beleaguered aircraft. The Chicago-based carrier initially said it would not fly the 737 MAX until June, and then announced in April it would extend the cancellations into July
Previously, both American Airlines and Southwest had announced they would cancel 737 MAX flights until August.
The Boeing aircraft was removed from service in March after two fatal crashes resulted in the death of 346 people. United's announcement came at almost the same time the Federal Aviation Administration said it could unground the 737 MAX sometime in late June.
Nonetheless, the airline will not make a further decision on revising its decision, even though at the moment United expects to cancel almost 2,400 flights in June and July - the height of the summer travel season.
"We won't put our customers and employees on that plane until regulators make their own independent assessment that it is safe to do so," United said in a statement, noting that this latest cancellation extension will last through August 3.
In large part, the FAA remains under scrutiny for certifying the 737 MAX and its software system, which was designed to push the nose of the airplane down if it senses an imminent stall and is believed to have played a role in both crashes.
Boeing has declined to comment while it addresses the software issue and awaits a ruling from the FAA.
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