GENEVA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Airlines face significant
problems if the return to service of the Boeing 737 MAX drags on
for months longer, the head of the International Air Transport
Association said on Wednesday.
IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac told Reuters many
airlines could cope with the latest delay in the plane's return
announced earlier on Wednesday, but were nearing the end of
their ability to manage the shutdown smoothly.
The head of IATA, whose 290 airlines represent 82% of global
traffic, was speaking shortly after the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration said the jet would not return to service in 2019.
Reacting to the latest delay, de Juniac said, "For some of
our members it is disruptive because they have a lot of planes
grounded (or) on order, but they have been able to cope with
that. They are not happy of course but they are not in despair."
He added, however, "If it lasts some additional months, for
some of our members it would be a big problem”.
De Juniac said he understood why European regulators wanted
to conduct their own examination of key MAX software, but called
for a return to a system of mutual recognition among regulators
for future programmes including the upcoming Boeing 777X.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Laurence Frost)