Airways start repairing Boeing 737 Max plane which can be grounded on account of {an electrical} drawback

United Airlines aircraft, including a Boeing 737 MAX 9 model, are pictured at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas on March 18, 2019.

Loren Elliott | Reuters

Boeing shares rose nearly 3% Thursday morning after U.S. airlines repaired dozen of 737 Max planes last month that were on the ground due to an electrical problem. The manufacturer expects to resume deliveries in the coming days.

The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the repair of the manufacturing defect that put more than 100 aircraft into service last month.

Boeing had halted shipments of Max planes it had already manufactured to solve the problem. This has been the company’s most recent obstacle in generating much-needed money. A Boeing spokeswoman told CNBC that shipments are likely to resume “within the week”.

The Max planes were on the ground worldwide for 20 months until last November after two fatal crashes. The electrical problem had nothing to do with the problems leading up to the ground.

The airlines have been keen to get the planes back in service to meet the resurgent demand for travel as more and more customers are vaccinated against Covid-19 and the attractions reopen.

United Airlines has started repairs to the aircraft and expects the 17 affected Max aircraft “to be returned to service in the coming days when we complete our inspection process and ensure that these aircraft meet our strict safety standards”. The Chicago-based airline has a total of 30 Maxes in its fleet.

American Airlines has also started repairs and expects its 18 Max planes that need to be repaired to be back in service in the next few days. Southwest Airlines said work on each aircraft will take two to three days and that “it will take about three weeks to complete compliance work”.

The Dallas-based Southwest has 32 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that were grounded last month out of a total fleet of 64.