US transportation head says no grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 planes will return to air ‘until it is safe’

In this handout photo, the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 is seen on 7 January 2024. Photograph: NTSB/Reuters

The US transportation secretary announced on Wednesday afternoon that no grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 would return to service “until it is safe”, after Alaska Airlines announced the cancellation of all flights on its 737 Max 9 planes at the direction of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Pete Buttigieg said he was “not putting a timeline” on when the FAA will allow the planes to resume flights.