Steve Dickson, the US Federal Aviation Administration chief, speaks to reporters during the Dubai Airshow 2019. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Steve Dickson, the US Federal Aviation Administration chief, speaks to reporters during the Dubai Airshow 2019. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Steve Dickson, the US Federal Aviation Administration chief, speaks to reporters during the Dubai Airshow 2019. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Steve Dickson, the US Federal Aviation Administration chief, speaks to reporters during the Dubai Airshow 2019. Chris Whiteoak / The National

US-UAE aviation regulators to meet on Boeing 737 Max, FAA chief says


Deena Kamel
  • English
  • Arabic

US and UAE aviation regulators plan to meet with Gulf authorities to discuss the return of flydubai's grounded Boeing 737 Max fleet to the region's airspace once the ban lifts, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The timing of the meeting is yet to be scheduled, depending on the jet certification process, and could be held in the next three weeks, Steve Dickson, the FAA administrator told The National. This followed the FAA's meeting with flydubai and the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority last week.

"We understand they want to get the plane back in service, they were also concerned with some of the markets they operate into that don't have Max, that they're able to do that," Mr Dickson said.

"So we're looking at working with the GCAA on a regional session where we can bring a couple of our experts in and make sure that even those states that don't have Max operators understand how the decisions are made."

The GCAA said it discussed with the FAA and Boeing ways to ensure neighbouring countries that do not operate the Max are still informed about the procedures to return the aircraft safely to commercial flights. They reached an understanding the issue needs to be addressed in addition to current talks with Max-operating countries.

"It is important for us to ensure that once the aircraft is returned to service, after all the safety issues have been addressed, that the return to service is smooth and harmonised," Ismaeil Mohammed Al Blooshi, assistant director general of Aviation Safety Affairs at the GCAA, told The National.

"We will support the FAA and open a dialogue with all the states in the regions with the objective of creating the required awareness. We feel that this will allow all the states to take an informed decision regarding the Boeing 737 Max, we want to allow everyone to have firsthand access to the right information from the source which is FAA."

A flydubai spokeswoman said: "The certification of the Max aircraft is a matter for the regulator."

The 737 Max jet was involved in two deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that led to a global grounding of the Max fleet since March. The tragedies raised questions about the jet's certification process and the dealings between the US plane maker and the regulator. Boeing is working on a on a fix to the Max's flight-automation software that was involved in both disasters and has said it is aiming for FAA approval by year-end to fly the plane again.

The FAA in its meeting with the UAE airline and regulator sought to update them on its audit of the 737 Max.

"The message is first of all I'm going to fly the airplane before I sign off on it and we're going to follow the process," Mr Dickson said.

In Dubai last week, the FAA chief said his meeting with flydubai and the GCAA was "very constructive."

"We want to make sure all the operators in all the countries where the airplane will be operating into and out of have full visibility into how the process works," he said.

The UAE is part of the Joint Authorities Technical Review, a panel of international air safety regulators commissioned by the FAA in April to look into the agency's oversight and approval of the Max's flight control system.

"They want to increase their ability to conduct validation activities going forward as a regulator," Mr Dickson said.

The FAA chief reiterated that the agency is not following a specific timeline for returning the Max to service.

"We are going to make sure that we are very methodical and very diligent," he said. "We are not delegating anything in this process."

U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh

UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith

Results:

Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
While you're here
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Pathaan
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No Shame

Lily Allen

(Parlophone)

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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SPECS
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The bio

Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France

Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines

Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.

Favourite Author: My father for sure

Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets