Stored Airplanes Will Need Extensive Maintenance, Test Flights

Boeing plans to hire several hundred temporary workers to get 737 MAX airplanes it has had in storage for months ready for delivery to the customers that have them on order.

Business Insider reports that the new hires will be based at Grant County (WA) International Airport, where the majority of the completed airplanes have been stored since the world's aviation regulators grounded the airplane in March. In a statement, Boeing said the workers will "assist and support 737 MAX storage and pre-delivery."

The aircraft will require extensive maintenance checks and test flights before they are cleared for delivery, according to Boeing. The company will be looking for avionics technicians, mechanics, electricians and other positions. They will be offered housing and a per diem for meals, according to the report.

Boeing said that the timing of the hires will be determined by the lifting of the grounding by the FAA and other aviation regulators.

"It is the FAA and other global aviation regulators that will determine when the 737 MAX returns to service, and we are working tirelessly to meet their requirements. We will submit our final certification package to the FAA once we have satisfied all of their requirements, which we currently estimate will occur on a timeframe to support an early fourth quarter return to service," the company said in a statement.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report