Alaska Airlines announced Friday that it will extend its cancelation of flights on Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft through Sunday. The airline announced earlier this week that it was canceling flights on its MAX 9 fleet through Saturday while it waited for documentation from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration for aircraft inspections to begin.
“Alaska Airlines continues to wait for documentation from Boeing and the FAA to begin inspection of our 737-9 MAX fleet,” the airline posted on its website Friday. “We have made the decision to cancel all flights on 737-9 MAX aircraft through Sunday, Jan. 14, while we conduct inspections and prepare fully for return to service.”
The cancellations affect between 110 and 115 Alaska Airlines flights daily.
The extension through Sunday comes the same day the FAA said it would increase oversight of Boeing’s production and manufacturing following a midflight blowout on an Alaska Airlines Boeing Model 737-9 MAX in Oregon. On Thursday, the FAA said it had launched an investigation into Boeing to determine if it had failed to ensure its completed products conformed to their approved design and were safe to fly.
The FAA reiterated Friday that “the safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 MAX to service.”
Alaska said it will “only return these aircraft to service when all findings have been fully resolved and meet all FAA and Alaska’s stringent standards.”
The company added that it is “working around the clock” to place affected passengers on other flights.