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Boeing Grounding Affects Six Airlines At Orlando International

A Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by WestJet. Photo: Creative Commons / Ken Fielding
A Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by WestJet. Photo: Creative Commons / Ken Fielding

The nationwide grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft affects six airlines at Orlando International Airport.

Air Canada, American, GOL, Southwest, United and West Jet were scheduled to operate the planes at Orlando International Airport.

Nationwide, the FAA's grounding affects some 70 planes and cancelled flights across the country during one of the industry’s busier seasons.

“Right now we are in the spring break season, which is a relatively high demand season," said Ahmed Abdelghany, a professor of management operations at Embry-Riddle. "This will also be an issue.”

The Federal Aviation Administration continues to investigate the aircraft. It’s unknown when the agency will clear the planes for service. Embry-Riddle associate professor and aviation expert Clint Baylog doesn’t expect the grounding to have a big impact on the airline industry.

“Flying is so prevalent, flying is so important, that once we know what happened and address it, the majority of the flying public is not going to have any problem getting on a MAX aircraft again,” said Baylog. 

All affected passengers are advised to contact their airlines for individual flight information.

Orlando International Airport says it is prepared to accommodate any parked planes because of the order.

 

Brendan Byrne is WMFE's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the WMFE newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing WMFE's internship program.

Byrne also hosts WMFE's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration.
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