Alaska Airlines completes inspections on first group of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft

FILE PHOTO: Alaska Airlines commercial airplanes are shown parked off to the side of the airport in San Diego, California, Calinforia, U.S. January 18, 2024, as the the National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

(Reuters) – Alaska Airlines on Friday said it has completed inspections on the first group of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, clearing the carrier to put the MAX 9 back in service after an in-flight cabin blowout earlier this month.

The carrier will resume MAX 9 operations on Friday afternoon, starting with Flight 1146 from Seattle to San Diego.

Alaska said it had begun inspections of its first MAX 9s on Wednesday night, after the Federal Aviation Administration approved inspection criteria.

“We expect inspections on our 737-9 MAX to be completed by the end of next week, allowing us to operate our full flight schedule,” said the airline, adding that inspections take about 12 hours per aircraft.

A Copa Airlines jet became the first MAX 9 to return to service on Thursday.

Alaska and United Airlines, the two U.S. carries that fly the MAX 9, have canceled thousands of flights this month since the Jan. 6 grounding of 171 MAX 9s.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru and Valerie Insinna in Washington; editing by Jonathan Oatis)