After the plane window exploded and had to make an emergency landing, another airline suspended the operation of the Boeing 737 MAX 9.

On January 8, Panama's national airline Copa Airlines announced that it has extended the suspension of 21 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft it is operating until further notice.

Sau sự cố máy bay bung cửa sổ, phải hạ cánh khẩn cấp, thêm hãng hàng không đình chỉ hoạt động của Boeing 737 MAX 9

Alaska Flight 1282, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, departed from Portland International Airport in Oregon, USA on the evening of January 5 and had to turn back just 20 minutes after takeoff. (Source: US National Transportation Safety Board/CNN)

This is the second airline in Latin America after AeroMexico to apply this flight safety measure, following the incident where an Alaska Airlines plane's window burst and had to make an emergency landing on January 5.

Copa Airlines said in a statement on the same day that the above measures will be implemented until the authorities inspect and allow this type of aircraft to return to operation.

Panama's national airline is committed to providing the necessary assistance to all passengers affected by flight cancellations for the above reasons, including providing information, priority seating on flights, itinerary changes, refunds, as well as accommodation and other service costs.

Copa Airlines also said that flights affected by the temporary suspension mainly depart from Panama to Ecuador, Canada, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, and to the Central American country from Brazil, Uruguay, Honduras, the United States, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Previously, on January 6, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the temporary suspension of operations of about 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft for immediate inspection after one of these Alaska Airlines aircraft had a window failure and landed safely.

Alaska Flight 1282 carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members departed from Portland International Airport, Oregon on the evening of January 5 and had to return just 20 minutes after takeoff.

According to data from the flight tracking website FlightAware, the plane climbed to 15,000 feet (4,876 meters) and then began to descend. Images posted on social media later showed a window on the plane gone, while emergency oxygen masks popped out above the seats.

As required by the FAA, the inspection process lasts from 4 to 8 hours for each aircraft to ensure passenger safety.

Source