ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopian Airlines is set to become the world’s first carrier to resume flying Boeing Co’s 787 Dreamliner passenger jets, with a commercial flight on Saturday to neighbouring Kenya, two airline sources said.
Boeing’s Dreamliners have been grounded since regulators ordered all 50 planes out of the skies in mid-January after batteries on two of them overheated. US regulators approved a new battery design on Friday, clearing the way for installation.
An Air India source said in New Delhi that commercial operations should start within a week or so, immediately after approval from the local regulator DGCA.
“Ethiopian Airlines will be the first airline company to resume 787 Dreamliner flights in the world. Saturday’s the date,” a senior Ethiopian Airlines source said. “We’re flying to Nairobi, Kenya on the normal flight schedule.”
Another source, who also declined to be named, confirmed the plan to resume flights on Saturday by the airline, the first African carrier to purchase Dreamliner planes. It ordered 10, has received four, and started flying them in August.
“It should be a matter of days, not weeks. I think one week or so,” the source said, without giving further details.
Reuters
