Boeing has paid Alaska Airlines approximately $160 million in cash during the first quarter of 2024 to cover losses incurred due to the?grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.

The US Federal Aviation Administration grounded the Max 9 following a door-plug blowout shortly after Alaska Airlines flight 1282 departed Portland on 5 January.?

Although the incident did not seriously impact the immediate operations of European airlines, it has led to delays to deliveries of new aircraft from Boeing.

Boeing aircraft have faced a series of issues this year ¨C the latest of which saw an engine cowling fall off a Southwest Airlines 737-800 as it took off from Denver on Sunday (7 April). The crew were able to make a successful emergency landing at the same airport. US regulators have now started an investigation into this incident.

Alaska Airlines said its "operation and results were significantly impacted" by the mid-flight incident. The $160 million covers a loss in pre-tax profit, "primarily comprising lost revenues, costs due to irregular operations and costs to restore our fleet to operating service," according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The airline said it expects additional compensation to be provided beyond the first quarter, although the terms of this pay-out are confidential.

Boeing announced last month that?CEO David Calhoun would step down?at the end of the year, with Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal retiring immediately. Boeing chair Larry Kellner also declined to run for re-election at the company's annual shareholder meeting.

The US airline manufacturer is facing increased scrutiny from regulators in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident. This has led to a slowdown in the delivery of new aircraft to major European carriers such as Ryanair, which has forced the Irish budget airline to reduce capacity this summer and warn about higher fares as a result.