North American airlines Alaska Airlines and United Airlines canceled a total of 350 flights on Sunday following the incident with a Boeing plane on Friday.
Alaska Airlines said it canceled 170 flights scheduled on Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, more than a fifth of its scheduled flights, while United Airlines said it canceled 180 flights on Sunday despite being able to use a different type of aircraft .
The Boeing 737 Max 9-inch has been taken out of service pending confirmation from the FAA. [Administração Federal da Aviação] details of possible additional maintenance work,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are the only U.S. airlines operating Boeing Max 9 aircraft.
On Saturday, the FAA issued a directive ordering 171 737 Max 9 aircraft to undergo “immediate inspection” by the airlines that fly them “before operating a new flight.” This operation is estimated to take four to eight hours per aircraft.
The decision was made after an Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing on Friday evening in Portland, in the northwest US, after a window and part of the fuselage fell out.
The airline said the plane landed safely with 174 passengers and six crew members.
The hole caused the cabin to depressurize, but the company did not provide information about whether anyone was injured or a possible cause.