FAA clears United Airways so as to add new plane, routes after security evaluation

United Airlines mentioned the Federal Aviation Administration has cleared it so as to add new plane and routes months after the regulator stepped up its scrutiny of the carrier following a number of security incidents.

“Immediately, we bought some excellent news: after a cautious evaluation and dialogue in regards to the proactive security steps United has taken so far, our FAA Certificates Administration Workplace has allowed us to start the method of restarting our certification actions, together with new plane and routes, and we’ll proceed to coordinate carefully with the FAA,” United mentioned in a be aware to workers Wednesday.

United mentioned in March that the FAA had stepped up scrutiny of the airline after a spate of incidents earlier this yr. That prevented it from launching new routes, together with flights to Faro, Portugal, forward of the busy summer season journey season.

The clearance from the FAA is welcome information as United and different carriers anticipate a record peak season this year.

Among the many security incidents in latest months, a Japan-bound United Boeing 777 lost a tire shortly after takeoff from San Francisco in February, and a lacking panel was found on a Boeing 737 after it landed in Oregon in March.

United mentioned that it has extra work to do, nonetheless.

“We’ll proceed to see an FAA presence in our operation as they evaluation our work processes, manuals and amenities,” it mentioned in its worker memo.

The FAA did not instantly remark.

Whereas the planes concerned older jets, the incidents come amid heightened scrutiny of the aviation trade after a door plug blew out of a virtually new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines earlier this yr, a close to disaster that has created a fresh crisis for the producer.