Boeing’s long road to the 737 MAX’s return in China

(Reuters) – A China Southern Airlines Co Ltd flight on a Boeing Co 737 MAX took off on Friday, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed, marking the first passenger service on the model by a Chinese airline since March 2019.

Here is a timeline of events surrounding the MAX:

2017

MARCH 8 – The 737 MAX gains U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification.

MAY 22 – The MAX enters commercial service on Lion Air subsidiary Malindo Air.

2018

OCT. 29 – A Lion Air MAX plane crashes in Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board.

2019

MARCH 10 – An Ethiopian Airlines MAX crashes, killing all 157 people on board.

MARCH 11 – China’s aviation regulator becomes the first in the world to ground the MAX.

MARCH 13 – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration joins other major global regulators in grounding the MAX.

2020

OCT. 6 – The FAA issues a draft report on revised training procedures for the MAX.

NOV. 18 – The FAA lifts the grounding order.

DEC. 29 – American Airlines makes the first passenger flight since the MAX was grounded.

2021

JAN. 27 – The European Union Aviation Safety Agency approves the MAX’s return to service in Europe.

MARCH 1 – China’s aviation regulator says its major safety concerns with the MAX had to be “properly addressed” before conducting flight tests.

APRIL 6 – China Southern subsidiary Xiamen Airlines says it has started technical modifications on its grounded MAX planes, though it does not have a timetable for the jet’s return to service.

AUG. 11 – A Boeing MAX test plane flies in China as the manufacturer works with the regulator on its return.

NOV. 14 – China’s aviation regulator tells airlines it is satisfied that proposed MAX design changes could resolve safety problems.

DEC. 3 – China’s aviation regulator forecasts airlines will resume MAX commercial flights by the end of 2021 or in early 2022.

2022

MARCH 15 – A MAX jet for Shanghai Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern, takes off from Seattle heading to Boeing’s China completion plant.

MARCH 21 – A China Eastern 737-800 plane, the MAX’s predecessor, crashes in China killing all 132 people on board.

JUNE 15 – A China Southern MAX conducts test flights for the first time since March.

JULY 2 – China’s three biggest airlines agree to buy nearly 300 Airbus jets.

SEPT. 14 – China’s aviation regulator meets with Boeing about the MAX’s return.

SEPT. 15 – Boeing says it will begin to remarket some MAX jets earmarked for Chinese customers.

SEPT. 29 – China’s aviation regulator certifies the COMAC C919 narrowbody jet, a homegrown rival to the MAX and Airbus A320neo families.

OCT. 19 – A MIAT Mongolian Airlines MAX flight lands in Guangzhou in the first commercial flight by the model to China since the March 2019 grounding.

OCT. 27 – China Southern schedules commercial flights with the MAX for Oct. 30.

OCT. 30 – China Southern cancels the planned MAX commercial flights.

2023

JAN. 11 – China Southern schedules commercial flights with the MAX for Jan. 13

JAN. 13 – A China Southern MAX flies from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou, marking the model’s return to Chinese passenger service.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed. Editing by Gerry Doyle)