(Yicai Global) Dec. 3 -- China’s aviation regulator has issued the Boeing 737 Max with an airworthiness directive nearly three years after it grounded the plane following two deadly crashes.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China, the first regulator globally to ground the 737 Max, issued the directive yesterday after wrapping up a review of the narrow-body passenger aircraft.

Made by US manufacturer Boeing, the 737 Max is now another step closer to resuming service with Chinese airlines. Carriers with the plane in their fleets and on order include Air China, China Southern Airlines, Chinese Eastern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines.

“The CAAC’s decision is an important milestone toward safely returning the 737 Max to service in China,” Chicago-based Boeing said in a statement. “Boeing continues to work with regulators and our customers to return the airplane to service worldwide.”

The directive does not mean the CAAC has approved the 737 Max to resume service, industry professionals told Yicai Global. It is just the first of three preconditions. The other two are that pilots must be fully re-trained and the conclusion from the investigations into the two accidents must be clear with effective improvement measures.

In March 2019, China grounded all 97 of the 737 Max planes serving domestic carriers in response to two crashes in six months caused by the aircraft’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. Since then, Boeing submitted corrective measures including updates to the system’s software design to eliminate hazards.

Boeing hopes to resume deliveries of the 737 Max to Chinese airlines in the first quarter of next year, Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said on a conference call for the firm’s third-quarter earnings results.

The aircraft passed the review of the US Federal Aviation Administration last November and was approved to resume services in the country after the issuance of a new airworthiness directive.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Futura Costaglione