Boeing considers suspending production of 737 Max

Boeing’s board is discussing whether to cut back or suspend production of the 737 Max passenger jet, raising the possibility that the US aircraft manufacturer will face another round of charges before regulators clear the plane to resume flying.

A scheduled end-of-year board meeting began in Chicago on Sunday and was set to continue on Monday. Directors had announced no decision as of Sunday evening. The Max has been grounded since March after two crashes that killed 346 people.

Boeing’s hopes of when it might return to service have been repeatedly pushed back as the US Federal Aviation Administration and regulators from Europe to China raise fresh questions about its proposed fixes.

The company cut its production of the Max by a fifth in April, to 42 planes per month, triggering billions of dollars of charges. It has disclosed a $5.6bn hit to profit for customer compensation and a further $3.6bn in additional cost to the 737 programme.

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