Alaska Airlines N704AL is on the ground in a hangar at Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon on January 9, 2024.
Mathieu Lewis-Roland | Getty Images
The Federal Aviation Administration shut down on Wednesday Boeing's planned expansion of production of its 737 Max aircraft, but it cleared the way for the manufacturer's Max 9 to return to service nearly three weeks after a door plug blew out during a Alaska Airlines flight.
“Let me be clear: This will not be business as usual for Boeing,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement Wednesday. “We will not agree to any request from Boeing to expand production or approve additional production lines for the 737 MAX until we are satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process have been resolved. ”
Boeing did not immediately comment. Shares fell about 4% in after-hours trading after the FAA announcement.
Boeing is trying to ramp up production of its best-selling planes as airlines clamor for new planes in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The FAA also said Wednesday that it has approved inspection instructions for the Max 9 aircraft. Airlines had been waiting for that approval to revise their fleets to put those planes back into service.
The FAA grounded the 737 Max 9 planes after a fuselage panel blew out as Flight 1282 climbed out of Portland, Oregon, on January 5. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, the two U.S. carriers with the planes, to cancel hundreds of flights.
The CEOs of United and Alaska have expressed frustration with Boeing following the issue, the most serious in a recent wave of apparent production defects on Boeing planes. The aircraft for the Alaska flight was delivered late last year.
The FAA is investigating Boeing's production lines after the Alaska flight. Whitaker told CNBC on Tuesday that the FAA will keep “boots on the ground” at Boeing's factory until the agency is satisfied its quality assurance systems are working. He said the agency is moving to a “direct inspection” approach with Boeing.
Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO: