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Southwest Airlines announced Thursday it has removed all Boeing 737 Max 8s from its schedule until August 5th.
The Federal Aviation Administration and regulators around the world have grounded the struggling Max last month after fatal accidents involving the plane in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
At the time of the stranding announcement, Southwest reported having 34 Max 8 aircraft, less than five percent of its daily flights.
Southwest President Tom Nealon said in a message posted on the airline's website that he has chosen to revise the summer schedule to increase the reliability of his schedule and reduce the number of last-minute flight changes.
"While the Max's release schedule remains unclear, our commitment to maintaining a reliable schedule and providing the customer service you expect from us is very clear – our revised summer schedule allows us to to achieve these goals "says Nealon.
Nealon also apologized to the Southwestern customers who were affected by the airline's treatment of the Max 8's grounding.
"While the vast majority of our customers' itineraries have remained unchanged, changes in flight schedules have hampered some of our customers, and for that I apologize most sincerely," he said. .
RELATED: Boeing completes 96 flights to test 737 Max software
RELATED: American Airlines extends cancellations caused by Max until June 5
Southwest stated that it proactively notifies the "limited number" of customers who have already booked a trip affected by the change in schedule. The airline said the modified schedule was already in effect on its website.
American Airlines announced earlier this week that it would extend its cancellations from 737 Max until June 5th.
Boeing CEO said Friday that crews had made 96 flights to test a software update of the ground plane and plan new ones over the next few weeks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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