According to an SEC filing, Southwest is removing Boeing 737 MAX jets from its schedule, now adding more doubt into whether Boeing can get these planes back in the air.
The Federal Aviation Administration considered grounding some Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 jets, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Continue Reading Below
Despite not being able to verify that 38 aircraft meet all mandatory U.S. safety standards, Southwest continues to operate the jets for revenue service, according to the Journal, citing government documents.
There is growing scrutiny from congressional investigators and the Department of Transportation’s inspector general’s office over the issues, which include Southwest’s operation of used foreign aircraft that it has acquired, the Journal reported, citing the documents and people familiar with the details.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LUV | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. | 58.21 | +0.03 | +0.05% |
Problems included “substandard or improper fixes” on aircraft that were purchased prior to the used foreign jets, the airline said in letters to the FAA over the past two weeks, according to the newspaper.
CARRIERS FACE GLUT OF AIRCRAFT WHEN BOEING 737 MAX RETURNS
The key issue is that the air carrier doesn’t have “reliable paperwork” that is necessary to confirm repairs and other maintenance was done while the aircraft was owned and operated by the previous airlines, the Journal reported.
The jets investigators are eyeing are among 88 that Southwest brought into its fleet from about 2013 to 2017, according to the Journal, which reported that the planes were from Canada, China, Russia, Argentina and Turkey. Currently, 41 of the jets have been fully inspected, paperwork examined and meet all FAA requirements, while nine others are being inspected, according to the outlet.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Southwest and the FAA did not respond to FOX Business’ request for comment at the time of publication.
