US regulators clear Boeing 737 MAX planes to fly again

The US Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) on Wednesday approved Boeing's request to fly its 737 MAX aircraft again nearly two years after it was grounded due to two fatal air crashes.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson who had piloted test flights during the approval process said he was "100 per cent comfortable" having his family fly the jet.

Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun said: "We will never forget the lives lost in the two tragic accidents that led to the decision to suspend operations, adding,"These events and the lessons we have learned as a result have reshaped our company and further focused our attention on our core values of safety, quality and integrity."

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The 737 MAX plane was involved in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in which 346 people were killed in 2018 and 2019. After FAA's decision to stop Boeing from flying the 737 MAX, several countries moved to ban the plane from flying in their country.

However, the families of the Ethiopian crash victims said they felt "sheer disappointment and renewed grief" after FAA's decision.

The US House of Representatives had earlier in its report in September had said that Boeing had failed in its design and development and that the FAA had failed in its oversight.

Boeing meanwhile said FAA's action as an "important milestone" in the company's journey to restoring its reputation.