Answer given by Ms Vălean on behalf of the European Commission

27.2.2024

Boeing 737 MAX is an aircraft developed in the United States (US) and for which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acts as the authority of the State of Design in accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) validates the Type Certificate (TC) issued by the FAA to the Boeing 737 MAX models in accordance with the EU-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA).

In the aftermath of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 accidents several actions were taken by EASA, FAA and Boeing to ensure safety of the fleet.

On 27 January 2021, after extensive independent investigations EASA gave its approval for the return to service of the modified version of Boeing 737 MAX 8 in the EU, mandating, amongst other, a package of software upgrades, maintenance checks and crew training.

As an additional action, Boeing took the commitment to perform an evaluation of the Boeing 737 MAX Crew Alerting System (CAS).

This activity is still ongoing and is being performed jointly by Boeing and the FAA with close EASA involvement. At this point, the review group has not yet decided if, or what actions are required from Boeing, and, taking into account the regulatory framework of the EU and the BASA, EASA does not see the need to take further unilateral action related to the Boeing 737 MAX at this moment.

Should as a result of this review activity EASA decide that action is needed, this decision will be taken in accordance with the applicable legal framework, that is: Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 of 3 August 2012[1] and the EU-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement which give EASA sufficient powers to react adequately.

• [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32012R0748