The airline China Eastern Airlines has brought the Boeing 737-800 machine type back into the air commercially. The carrier suspended operations of this type in the aftermath of the March 21, 2022 crash.

The Kunming-Chengdu route was served on Sunday with the Boeing 5843-737 with the registration B-800L under flight number MU207. The company thus got this type of machine back into the air just under a month after the voluntary grounding of the sub-fleet. The Boeing 737-700 model was not affected by the temporary decommissioning.

March 21, 2022 the B737-800 with the registration B-1791 crashed for reasons that are still unclear. The medium-haul jet was en route from Kunming to Guanghzou. China Eastern Airlines said, among other things, that the flight accident investigation is ongoing. All Boeing 737-800s have been checked in detail and various tests have been carried out. The aircraft is found to be safe and the decision has therefore been made to redeploy it.

The airline grounded a total of 223 Boeing 737-800s after the fatal loss. Some of those operated by subsidiaries were also affected. The decision also led to capacity bottlenecks that could not be fully compensated with the help of wet lease services.

The flight data recorders of the B-1791 have since been recovered and are being evaluated. China intends to submit a first interim report to ICAO shortly. Valid information can still be given on the exact cause of the accident, as the People's Republic is very reluctant to provide information. The crash was the deadliest aircraft accident that China has had to record in recent decades.