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Boeing resumes Dreamliner deliveries

15 May 2013 by GrahamSmith

Boeing has resumed deliveries of its B787 Dreamliner jet, four months after regulators grounded all 50 planes after batteries overheated on two aircraft.

All Nippon Airways has received a new aircraft and is due to take to the skies, with the addition of three new Dreamliner routes, from June 1 (see online news, May 9).

And Boeing yesterday confirmed it will have completed repairing the battery systems on all 50 of its Dreamliners by the end of this month.

Last month, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a formal directive lifting the ban on Dreamliners (see online news, April 26).

According to the ruling, airlines can begin using 787s after they modify the lithium-ion battery system. The modified batteries are now housed in a stainless steel box and will run at a much cooler temperature.

There is also a ventilation pipe that leads directly from the box to the outside of the plane, meaning that in the event of any fire, the remainder of the aircraft would be unaffected by smoke.

The three-month grounding of the B787 began in mid-January due to the faulty battery system causing problems in two different planes operated by Japan Airlines and ANA (see online news, January 11).

Ethiopian Airlines became the first carrier to operate a commercial Boeing 787 flight, between Addis Ababa and Nairobi, Kenya, at the end of last month (see online news, April 29).

There are currently 50 Dreamliners operated by airlines around the world. A further 840 of the aircraft are on order and will come with the revamped battery system.

For more information, visit boeing.com.

Report by Graham Smith

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