Infrastructure

Southwest Has Taken The 737 Max Off Its Schedule Through August

Boeing expects the Max to return to service in mid-2020, but Southwest said it's canceling flights "proactively" due to "continued uncertainty."

Southwest Has Taken The 737 Max Off Its Schedule Through August
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SMS

Southwest Airlines is extending its cancellation of Boeing 737 Max planes until Aug. 10. The airline previously said it was removing the plane from its flight schedule through June 6.

In a statement released Thursday, the airline said the decision is the result of "continued uncertainty around the timing of MAX return to service." It added that the decision was made "proactively" and meant to reduce the possibility of last-minute flight cancellations or travel disruptions.

Southwest says this revision will remove about 371 weekday flights from its peak-day schedule of over 4,000 flights.

In January, Boeing said it expects the 737 Max will return to service sometime in the middle of 2020. The aircraft was grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes involving that model occurred within months of each other. Investigators believe the craft's flight-control system is at least partially to blame for both crashes.