Chinese authorities approved the Boeing 737 MAX to resume service on Thursday, removing a major uncertainty surrounding the American aviation giant's comeback after a lengthy slump.
The move by the Civil Aviation Administration of China sets the stage for the jet to return to airline schedules in the country in 2022.
Shares of Boeing rocketed after the decision, which also clears the way for it to deliver more than 100 MAX aircraft to Chinese carriers that were produced during the more than two years the plane was grounded in China following two deadly crashes.
China is the last major travel market to bring the MAX back into use after it was grounded globally in March 2019 following the second of two crashes that together claimed 346 lives.
Investigators said a main cause of both crashes was a faulty flight handling system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
Boeing won approval from the United States in November 2020 and from most other leading aviation authorities thereafter to resume service.
On Thursday, Chinese authorities gave the green light after requiring upgrades to planes, including installing new software programs to address the defect and updating the flight manual.
Aviation insiders expect it will be another four to six weeks before the planes actually see service with Chinese carriers.