Boeing 737 Max 9 returns to the sky: Alaska Airlines resumes flights after inspections

After a three-week fleet inspection, Alaska Airlines resumed flights of some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft on Friday, January 26. The airline's Flight 1146, which departed Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday afternoon, was the first Max 9 flight after the aircraft had been out of service for many weeks.

Two other flights departed on Friday afternoon: one from Las Vegas to Portland, Oregon, and the other from Seattle to Ontario, Canada. ABC News reported this with reference to the airline.

Two days earlier, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued final instructions to airlines to begin inspecting their 737 Max 9 aircraft.

Alaska confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that it plans to return some of its 737 MAX-9 aircraft back to the skies after a thorough inspection.

"Each of our 737-9 MAX aircraft will return to service only after thorough inspections are completed, and each aircraft is deemed airworthy in accordance with FAA requirements," the airline said, adding that it will take up to 12 hours to inspect each model.

The FAA has suspended 171 Max 9 aircraft worldwide after a door plug fell off one of them on January 5. Although no one was injured because they were not sitting near the door, the incident shocked the world and forced various airlines to check their aircraft.