Japan to lift grounding of Boeing 787s this week: Minister

TOKYO: Japan today said that their transport ministry will lift the grounding of troubled Boeing 787 jets as early as this week, after US aviation regulators approved Boeing's new battery system for the airplane last Friday.


The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will officially announce the lifting after two days of public hearings by the US National Transportation Safety Board starting today, said the Japanese transport minister Akihiro Ota.

All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. are expected to resume commercial flights as early as in June after completing modifications to their 787 fleets.

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved Boeing's design for modifications to the plane's battery system and is expected to allow US carriers to resume 787 operations within this week.

At the NTSB's public hearings, engineers of Boeing, GS Yuasa Corp., the maker of lithium-ion batteries for the 787, and French military aircraft builder SA, which built the plane's electrical system, are expected to testify.