Aviation safety regulators may diverge over Boeing 737 MAX's return

European safety regulator EASA will reportedly choose its own moment to approve the return to service of the Boeing 737 MAX, rather than simultaneously following the FAA, the US regulator. China may also follow its own timetable.

The FAA would prefer a coordinated global decision, since additional delays by other regions after US approval would leave lingering doubts over the aircraft and could be seen to undermine the FAA's authority.

Historically, decisions to ground aircraft and subsequently to approve their return to service have usually - but not invariably - been taken in a globally coordinated manner, with the lead coming from the regulator in the jurisdiction where the aircraft manufacturer is based, or which originally approved the aircraft for service.

However, that gentlemen's agreement was broken at the outset in the case of the MAX when the Civil Aviation Authority of China became the first to ground the aircraft on 11-Mar-2019, beating the FAA by two days.

Boeing hopes for a 4Q2019 return to service, but several operators of the aircraft are planning on Jan-2020 or Feb-2020.

In the meantime, the grounding is hitting Boeing's bottom line and weighing on the wider US economy. Regulators acting out of phase with each other could further complicate the return of the MAX.