The 737 Max 8-200, a higher-capacity variant of Boeing’s recently-ungrounded narrow body aircraft, has been certified for use by the European Union Safety Agency and the USA’s Federal Aviation Administration.
Boeing’s 737 Max 8-200, which was first announced in 2014 is being produced for low cost carriers. The aircraft can carry eleven more passengers than the standard Max 8 with a range of 6,509km (4,044 miles).
The first customer for the Max 8-200 will be European airline Ryanair, which has ordered 210 of the aircraft and expects to receive the first this month, two years later than initially planned.
As well as more seating the 737 Max 8-200 includes an additional exit door, requiring additional type approval.
The European Union Safety Agency’s (EASA) approval was made via an update to the type certificate this week. According to the EASA document, the Max 8-200 is certified to carry a maximum of 207 people, including five crew.
The EASA approval comes after the Federal Aviation Administration approved the 737 Max 8-200 last week, as reported by Air Current.
The 737 Max was recertified for use in November 2020 in the USA and late January elsewhere after being grounded in March 2019. The crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which resulted in the tragic loss of 346 lives occurred in October 2018 and March 2019.