(Reuters) – Boeing (NYSE:) aircraft deliveries to China have been delayed in recent weeks as Chinese regulators review batteries associated with a cockpit voice recorder, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The U.S. aircraft maker said in a statement it was working with Chinese customers on their delivery dates pending a review by the Civil Aviation Administration of China of the batteries contained in the 25-hour cockpit voice recorder.
In year-end 2023 earnings, Boeing said it has about 140 737-8 aircraft, including 85 for customers in China. In 2024, until the end of April, Boeing delivered 22 aircraft to China.
Boeing said the Federal Aviation Administration has certified the system, which stores more data than previous cockpit voice recorders.
Boeing last month gave the go-ahead to resume deliveries of its 737 MAX 8 to domestic customers, ending an import freeze on the US planemaker’s most profitable plane that occurred shortly after its first delivery in 2019.
China became the first country to ground the MAX planes after two crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed nearly 350 people.