UK airline passengers won't always know if they are due to fly on a Boeing 737 Max - with Ryanair saying it would be 'impossible' to let customers know in advance
Boeing's 737 Max aircraft has been cleared to fly again by US regulators following two fatal crashes that grounded the plane.
In the UK, Tui and Ryanair will be operating the model once it receives clearance to take to the skies from European regulators.
But passengers won't always know beforehand if they are due to step onboard one - with Ryanair saying it would be 'impossible' to let customers know in advance.
Tui has said that it is 'their intention' to inform passengers if they are due to fly on a Boeing 737 Max before it is re-introduced to its fleet and to let them change flights for free if they don't feel able to fly on one.
It said in a statement: 'The FAA approval is an important milestone for a safe re-entry-into-service of the Boeing 737 Max. Nevertheless, the EASA consultation approval won’t take place before January 2021. We’ll await the outcome and decide at a later stage when the Max will be used again.
'Before we reintroduce the 737 Max into our fleet we will be looking at the best way to inform customers and is our intention to do so. We currently only highlight when customers will fly on a 787 Dreamliner.'
Ryanair, which has 135 of the aircraft on order and had been due to start taking delivery of them in 2019, told
Which? Travel that if the 737 Max is deemed safe to fly in Europe again, it will not alert passengers if they are due to travel on one. It said it would be 'impossible', explaining that aircraft allocation decisions are 'only made the day before a flight departure'.
It also told the consumer champion it would not allow customers to amend their bookings for free to fly on another aircraft type if the 737 Max was being used and said it will only operate the aircraft following 'the most extensive certification process ever conducted by the FAA, EASA and other regulators'.
In the UK, Tui and Ryanair will be operating the model once it receives clearance to take to the skies from European regulators. It has already been cleared to fly again by authorities in the US.
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