The Boeing 737 Max has been cleared to fly passengers again in the US, after two deadly crashes led to the deaths of nearly 350 people.  

On 29 October 2018, a single faulty sensor triggered an anti-stall system that caused Lion Air flight 610 to crash shortly after take off from Jakarta. All 189 passengers and crew died.

Less than six months later, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi was lost, along with 157 lives, in similar circumstances.

The plane was grounded worldwide shortly afterwards. But after a rigorous redesign and certification, it is likely to be flying passengers again in the US before the end of the year, after the Federal Aviation Administration gave approval on Wednesday.  

Returning the jet to service will prove a massive operation. Currently 380 planes are with the airlines that bought them, with a further seven technically delivered but still at Boeing’s facilities in the Seattle area.

A further 450 have been built but remain undelivered.

The announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) applies to US airlines. Other regulators, including the UK's Civil Aviation Authority, are expected to follow suit.

Ryanair is the biggest European customer for the plane, with 135 firm orders and 75 options. Eddie Wilson, chief executive of the airlines’s main operating division, told The Independent that he expects the airline to be using the Boeing 737 Max in scheduled service from early next year.