Now Will Not Fly The Aircraft Before September 3

Southwest airlines has revised its schedule for a return to service for its Boeing 737 MAX airplanes.

In a statement posted on the carrier's website, Southwest said it is still waiting for guidance from Boeing and the FAA on the impending 737 MAX software enhancements and training requirements. "We are encouraged by the reported progress and proposed path forward for returning the aircraft to service, and we remain confident that, once certified by the FAA, the enhancements will support the safe operation of the MAX," the airline said in the statement.

"In April, we revised our flight schedule by removing the MAX through Aug. 5 to offer reliability to our operation and stability for our Customers during the busy summer travel months. With the timing of the MAX's return-to-service still uncertain, we are again revising our plans to remove the MAX from our schedule through Sept. 2.

"By proactively removing the MAX from scheduled service, we can reduce last-minute flight cancellations and unexpected disruptions to our Customers' travel plans. We will proactively contact all Customers whose itineraries will be impacted by the revision to offer them maximum flexibility and re-accommodate them well in advance of their travel date. The revision will proactively remove roughly 100 daily flights from our schedule out of our total peak-day schedule of more than 4,000 daily flights.

"We offer our apologies to our Customers impacted by this change, and we thank them for their continued patience," the statement concluded.

(Source: Southwest Airlines. Image from file)

FMI: www.southwest.com