Canberra, February 26: Australia is all set to lift the ban on flights that use the Boeing Co 737 MAX aircraft, said the country’s aviation regulator on Friday. The flights to and from Australia that operate on the said model were grounded in 2019 following two deadly air crash. This makes the island nation the first to do in Asia-Pacific region. List of Countries Grounding Boeing 737 Max Grows, Now At Nine Including UK, Singapore and Australia.

None of Australia's own flight uses Boeing Co 737 MAX, however the Australia bound flights from Fiji Airways and Singapore Airlines Ltd did use the model to fly in the country until it was banned two years ago. Despite Australia's clearance to the aircraft model, the airlines will have to wait for their country of origin to use it. UAE Aviation Agency Clears Boeing 737 Max to Fly Again.

“We are confident that the aircraft are safe,” Graeme Crawford, the acting chief of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, said in a statement, as reported by Reuters. The aviation regulator has also accepted the comprehensive return-to-service requirements set by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as state of design for the 737 MAX, he said.

The Boeing Co 737 MAX was grounded by several countries including the US, China, UK, Canada, UAE among others in 2019 after two deadly plane crashes occurred - the Ethiopian Airlines crash that had claimed over 150 lives and the Lion Air Crash in Indonesia.

Meanwhile another aircraft model by Boeing Co has recently come under scrutiny following the United Airlines engine failure during the flight in US. Following which the US's FAA has taken regulatory actions against Boeing 777 while Japan has suspended its use.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 26, 2021 10:16 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).