Southwest officially removes MAX from schedule through Aug. 10

Southwest Airlines, the largest Boeing 737 MAX customer, has “proactively” removed the MAX from its flight schedule through Aug. 10.

The Dallas-based LCC had previously removed the MAX from its schedule through June 6. Southwest had 34 737 MAX 8 aircraft in its fleet when the grounding was put in place in March 2019. Another 27 MAX 8 aircraft designated for Southwest have been produced by Boeing but are currently in storage and have not been delivered to the airline.

“By proactively removing the MAX from scheduled service, we can reduce last-minute flight cancellations and unexpected disruptions to our customers' travel plans,” Southwest said in a statement.

“The revision will proactively remove roughly 371 weekday flights from our schedule out of our total peak-day schedule of more than 4,000 daily flights.”

Southwest asked passengers for their “continued patience” as Boeing works to make modifications that will allow the MAX to reenter service. “We remain confident that, once certified by the FAA, the enhancements will support the safe operation of the MAX,” Southwest said.

Photo credit: Bill Abbott