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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

CAA allows return of Boeing 737 Max

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The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the Sultanate has approved flight operations using the Boeing 737 Max.


Oman decided to temporarily suspend all operations of 737 Max aircraft in and out of all airports in the Sultanate from March 12, 2019.


The CAA said 737 Max will be allowed from and to the airports of the Sultanate if the airline wishes to operate that type of aircraft.


It may be noted that the fleet of the national carrier Oman Air includes five 737 Max aircraft, and the authority assures that those aircraft will be authorised to restart operation after it has fulfilled all the requirements for aircraft validity and pilots training.


The grounding of 737 Max seriously disrupted Oman Air’s expansion plans and it had to continuously cancel some of the scheduled flights until the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic that led to the serious closure of all kinds of passenger air traffic.


The decision was taken after Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 bound for Nairobi from Adis Ababa crashed minutes after take-off on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 people on board and prompting the carrier to ground the rest of its fleet.


It was the second crash of the 737 MAX 8 after Indonesian Lion Air crashed 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta on a domestic flight.


The Sultanate has completed all technical requirements for airworthiness and training and gives priority to the highest levels of aviation safety, CAA said.


The necessary measures and requirements for air safety on this model of aircraft are based on the success of Tests and checks conducted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in its capacity as the regulatory authority of the country of manufacture of the aircraft, which has been also approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and civil aviation authorities in some friendly countries.


Any foreign airline operating this aircraft to the Sultanate’s airports will also be subject to an audit of aircraft airworthiness procedures, including the license and training certificates granted to it by the countries of registration of these aircraft.


TREE TRIMMING


Meanwhile, some trees on the western side of the Muscat International Airport opposite the landing area of an aircraft will be trimmed to ensure safe flight movements.


The decision was taken as per the coordinated efforts between the Municipality of Muscat and Oman Airports to determine the appropriate altitudes for safe air navigation around the Muscat International Airport.


“Based on the request of Oman Airports regarding the height of the trees on the western side of the area opposite the landing aircraft area Muscat International Airport, it was decided to some trees in line with the permissible rights.”


The Muscat Municipality said that it will use appropriate methods and will take care of the afforestation system at the site with periodic maintenance work.


“The Municipality hopes that the public will understand these measures are taken for the safety of air navigation,” the municipality said.


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