The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday approved the smallest model of Boeing's Max jetliners for commercial service nearly a decade after the aircraft manufacturer first unveiled the plane.
Certification of the Boeing 737 Max 7 represents a milestone in the company's work to overcome years of safety, quality and production challenges. The long-delayed Max 7 is part of Boeing’s 737 family of commercial jets, which is the company's bestseller and has been at the center of its troubles.
The FAA said it cleared the new plane after years of additional testing, design changes and an extensive review of its design and safety systems. The certification was delayed as Boeing addressed technical issues and heightened regulatory scrutiny following two crashes involving the larger Max 8 that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.
Since the crashes off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia, the FAA overhauled how it certifies Boeing aircraft. It said its oversight of the company would continue beyond the Max 7's approval.
Before signing off on the aircraft, the FAA said, it required Boeing to make several safety changes, including updating flight-control software, improving cockpit alerts for pilots and redesigning the engine anti-ice system to prevent overheating.
“Our team of dedicated engineers and test experts worked through challenges, an extended pandemic, and the transition to new certification processes,” said Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Safety inspectors will remain at Boeing production facilities to monitor manufacturing, including observing the company’s Safety Management System and overall safety culture, the agency said.
The Max 7 is expected to be used primarily on short- and medium-haul routes. Several carriers, including Southwest Airlines, have outstanding orders for the plane.
FILE - A Boeing 737 MAX 7 takes off on its first flight on March 16, 2018, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond, File)
BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with the International Committee of the Red Cross’ representative in the capital on Monday, the military-backed government said, a rare moment of contact with the outside world for the Nobel laureate who has been held out of public view since the military seized power in 2021.
Two photographs published with the announcement showed Suu Kyi shaking hands with Arnaud de Baecque, the ICRC’s representative to Myanmar, and meeting with him in a wood-paneled room.
The Presidential Press and Information Bureau, which released the photographs, said the meeting was held Monday morning but did not disclose the location or provide details about what was discussed.
The ICRC confirmed in a statement on Monday that one of its delegates visited Suu Kyi under its standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of liberty, and spoke with her in private, but it did not disclose details of the discussion.
The organization said it continues to engage with all relevant actors to maintain and expand its access to places of detention in Myanmar.
Two other photographs showed Suu Kyi cutting a pink birthday cake bearing the inscription, “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu,” suggesting they may have been taken during a celebration for her 81st birthday in June.
In the photos, Suu Kyi appeared relaxed and was smiling. She did not show any obvious signs of ill health, although her physical condition could not be independently assessed from the images.
The release came as calls are growing from other countries, including Myanmar's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for access to or engagement with Suu Kyi as part of efforts to resolve the country's political crisis.
Kim Aris, her younger son living in London, and Myanmar democracy activists have been waging an online campaign to demand evidence that his mother is alive and well.
In a statement sent to the AP, Aris welcomed the reported ICRC visit, saying it could mark the first positive development concerning his mother in more than five years.
“This may be a first step, but it must not be the last,” Aris said.
He thanked governments, the international community and supporters for standing with his family and backing his campaign to seek proof of his mother’s well-being, while stressing that he had not yet received independent confirmation of her condition.
He said he hoped the visit would lead to direct family contact and her eventual release together with all political prisoners.
Suu Kyi was detained Feb. 1, 2021, when the army seized power from her elected government. She has not been seen publicly since then, and the last official photo of her released was in April, when she was moved from prison to house arrest and her sentence was reduced as part of a prisoner amnesty for a Buddhist holiday.
The country's military leaders, who have faced sanctions and widespread international isolation since seizing power in 2021, have sought to project a return to normalcy by holding a 2025 election and increased engagement with regional neighbors.
However, critics say the transition to a nominally elected government largely composed of former generals and holdovers from the previous military-led government has done little to change the military’s grip on power.
Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the opposition National Unity Government, said the ICRC’s meeting with Suu Kyi shouldn’t be taken as a real move to address human rights or democracy issues.
“Since, from the outset, a country’s leader was wrongfully arrested and imprisoned by finding faults where there were none, she must be released without any conditions,” he said.
The United Nations welcomed the ICRC visit and reiterated its call “for the swift and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained as a fundamental step toward conditions conducive to a credible and transparent political process."
U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said Secretary-General António Guterres stresses the importance of a dialogue between all Myanmar parties and his special envoy Julie Bishop on how the U.N., the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and other key players can help peacefully resolve the current conflict.
In this photo released by Myanmar President Office on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, a birthday cake for Myanmar ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi is seen during her meeting with Arnaud de Baecque, resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (Myanmar President Office via AP)
In this photo released by Myanmar President Office on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, Myanmar ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi cuts a birthday cake during her meeting with Arnaud de Baecque, resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (Myanmar President Office via AP)
In this photo released by Myanmar President Office on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, left, shakes hands with Arnaud de Baecque, resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, during their meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (Myanmar President Office via AP)
In this photo released by Myanmar President Office on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, left, shakes hands with Arnaud de Baecque, resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, during their meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (Myanmar President Office via AP)
