Iceland's national airline, Icelandair, plans to resume operations with Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the spring of 2021.
Before resuming operations with the 737 MAX, Icelandair will relocate these aircraft to its base at Keflavík Airport (KEF) to perform maintenance checks and extensive pilot training on a Boeing 737 MAX flight simulator.
Icelandair believes that the Boeing 737 MAX will be cost-effective and environmentally friendly, offering more operational flexibility and supporting the development of the operational network. Icelandair has six Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in its fleet, and on August 12, 2020, Icelandair decided to purchase four more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Boeing 737 MAX Icelandair aircraft were stored at Lleida Alguaire Airport (ILD) in Spain due to flight restrictions. They could not be kept in Iceland due to unfavorable climatic conditions.
We remind you that Boeing 737 MAX aircraft were detained on the ground in March 2019 following the crash of a 737 MAX Lion Air plane near Jakarta, on October 29, 2018, and a 737 MAX Ethiopian Airlines plane, on March 10, 2019, killing a total of 346 of people.
We remind you that the new Boeing 737 MAX, the model that incorporates several safety upgrades, was authorized to resume flights to Europe, on January 27, 2021. The announcement was made by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.