Southwest expects an ongoing Boeing 737 MAX manufacturing problem to delay some plane deliveries this year, Southwest said Friday. “We are in discussions with Boeing to understand what that impact will be in 2023 and beyond,” the company said. The manufacturing problem involves fittings that were incorrectly installed on the fuselage made by Spirit AeroSystems. Southwest -- which exclusively flies the 737 -- initially expected to receive 100 planes from Boeing in 2023, but the company dropped that projection down to 90 jets, according to regulatory filings published by the company on March 14.<br/>
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Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair is “assessing with Boeing” how the US airframer’s move to pause delivery of some 737 Max jets because of manufacturing errors will impact delivery of aircraft due through the end of June. While not all Boeing’s 737 deliveries are affected – the issue does not impact 737 Max 9s – Boeing on 13 April said the pause will likely affect “a significant number” of in-production aircraft. Ryanair is Boeing’s biggest Max operator outside the USA and is due to take delivery of 24 more jets over the remainder of April, May and June. Cirium’s fleets data shows Ryanair already operates 53 Max jets (all Max 8-200s) and has 111 more of that variant on order. Boeing’s announcement came after it was notified by a supplier that ”a non-standard manufacturing process was used during the installation of two fittings in the aft fuselage section of certain 737-7, 737-8, 737-8-200 and [military] P-8 models”. Though not a safety hazard, Boeing says it creates “the potential for a non-conformance to required specifications”.<br/>
A Saudi Arabian airlines plane at Sudan's Khartoum airport came under fire during clashes on Saturday, the state-owned carrier said. It said it had moved its passengers, crew and staff from the airport to the Saudi embassy in the capital Khartoum, and had suspended flights to and from Sudan until further notice. Clashes between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group erupted on Saturday, with gunfire heard in several parts of Khartoum and witnesses reporting shooting in adjoining cities.<br/>
An Iranian court has sentenced an air defense commander allegedly responsible for the deadly downing of a passenger plane amid Iran-US tensions several years ago, a state news agency, Mizan, reported Sunday. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard mistakenly shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight in January 2020. The missile strike killed all 176 people on board and came as Tehran and Washington teetered on the brink of war. The Guards commander who officials purport ordered the strike was sentenced to 13 years in prison, the official judiciary news outlet said. Mizan said the commander did not follow protocols in the moments leading up to the shooting down of the plane. The commander was ordered to pay fines to families of victims, the report added. Mizan said the court also sentenced two personnel allegedly involved in running the surface-to-air missile system Tor M-1 to one year in prison each. After a lengthy series of hearings, the court sentenced at least seven other personnel and air defense officers to up to three years in prison. According to Mizan, the verdicts are appealable within about three weeks. The report did not identify any of the defendants by name or give further details. The judiciary news agency also said Iran's government plans to pay $150,000 for each victim to their families. It did not elaborate on how this money will be delivered to the families. The hearing sessions have faced international criticism since starting in 2021. At that time, an association of the victims' families also criticized the hearing and cast doubts on the court's legitimacy. The group also alleged that none of the defendants were present at hearings.<br/>
A full emergency was declared at the Indira Gandhi International Aiport in Delhi after a plane with 230 passengers onboard suffered a technical failure on Saturday. An IndiGo fight, bound for Bagdogra in West Bengal, was scheduled to land around 4.10pm but was forced to make an emergency landing at the Delhi airport. The airline said that the IndiGo flight 6E 6282 from Delhi to Bagdogra returned to Delhi as a precaution. “The pilot noticed a technical issue and requested a turnback. The aircraft landed safely and is undergoing necessary inspection,” the statement said. “An alternate aircraft was provided for the passengers to be flown to Bagdogra,” it added. Hindustan Times reported that the emergency at the Delhi airport was later withdrawn. Earlier on Saturday, a Saudia Airlines cargo flight made an emergency landing at Kolkata Airport after its windshield developed a crack mid-air. According to ANI, the aircraft landed safely at the Kolkata Airport at 12.02 pm.<br/>
Pakistan's Economic Coordination Committee has approved increasing the government guarantee for PIA by PKR15b (US$53.6m). Last week, ch-aviation reported on the proposed increase, along with another PKR29b (US$103.7m) in financial assistance the state-owned airline has requested. To date, PIA had secured government guarantees of PKR248b (US$887m) but they are fully utilized and the airline had said it need the additional guarantees to secure further loans to keep the it airborne. The EEC meeting, chaired by Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, was held on April 13, 2023. Meanwhile, Saudi airport authorities have sent out final notices to several airlines, including PIA, regarding US$40m in unpaid airport fees. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation has threatened to suspend landing rights unless the arrears are paid. Saudi Arabia is a major market for PIA, with the carrier providing approximately 45,000 seats a week on 24 routes between the two countries.<br/>