RIO DE JANEIRO: Commercial flights with Boeing 737 MAX jetliners resumed Wednesday for the first time since they were grounded worldwide nearly two years ago following two deadly accidents.
Brazil鈥檚 Gol Airlines became the first in the world to return the planes to its active fleet, using a 737 MAX 8 on a flight from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre, according to flightradar24.com.
The company own announcement didn鈥檛 specify the route of the flight.
Gol is set to start regular service on Dec. 18, according to aviation data firm Cirium, with several daily flights between Sao Paulo and other major Brazilian cities.
Customers will be able to exchange their tickets if they don鈥檛 want to fly on a 737 MAX, a Gol spokesperson said.
Several passengers at Sao Paulo鈥檚 Guarulhos airport were surprised to learn they had traveled on a 737 MAX aircraft, though it was marked on their ticket. Others were aware.
鈥淚 was a bit apprehensive but my husband is a pilot, so I asked him. He said it was fine,鈥� said Lucelyn Jockyman, who texted her mother before takeoff. 鈥淚f anything happens, look after my dogs please!鈥� she joked.
Gol, the country鈥檚 largest airline with 36 million passengers annually, owns seven 737 MAX aircraft, according to Cirium. It is the only Brazilian company with the model in its fleet.
The Boeing plane was grounded globally in March 2019, shortly after a 737 MAX crashed in Ethiopia. A prior crash in Indonesia involving the model occurred in October 2018. In all, 346 people died.
Boeing said it upgraded the plane鈥檚 safety systems and software before winning approval to fly again.
Brazil鈥檚 aviation regulator lifted its restrictions on the 737 MAX in November, clearing the way for the plane to resume flights in Latin America鈥檚 biggest country.
Similar restrictions have been lifted in the US and Europe, where commercial airline flights with the plane are expected to resume soon, likely starting with American Airlines on Dec. 29.
鈥淭he MAX is one of the most efficient aircraft in aviation history and the only one to undergo a complete recertification process,鈥� Gol鈥檚 chief executive officer, Paulo Kakinoff, said in a statement earlier this week.