Boeing shares tumble as FAA temporary grounds 737 Max 9 aircraft

Boeing shares dropped sharply in premarket trading on Monday, January 8, tumbling as much as over 8% after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a temporary grounding order for numerous Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.

The US Aviation Administration issued a directive to ground over 170 aircraft on Saturday, which impacted approximately 171 planes globally. According to the directive, airlines are mandated to inspect before resuming flight operations.

The measure is only applicable to US airlines and carriers within the territory of the United States. The directive comes after an incident on an Alaska Airlines flight.

Earlier, Alaska Air's B737 MAX 9 lost a mid-aft door shortly after takeoff during Flight AS1282 from Portland to Ontario, CA. Consequently, the plane executed an emergency landing, returning to Portland International Airport. All 171 passengers and six crew members on board remained unharmed.

Following the mid-air emergency incident, as a precautionary move, Alaska Airlines announced the temporary grounding of its entire fleet of 65 Boeing MAX 9 aircraft.

India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), had also instructed all Indian carriers to do a one-time inspection of the emergency exits on all Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft currently in operation within the country.

As of now, no Indian airline operates the Boeing 737-9 Max variant, and there have been no specific inputs or guidance from Boeing regarding the incident.

However, Akasa, Air India Express, and SpiceJet have Boeing Max 8 in their fleets, and Air India has also placed an order for 190 Max aircraft. Spicejet has over 10 Max-8 but most of them are grounded.

Air India Express has eight Max-8 planes, of which three are already parked.