Exclusive-U.S. Congress set to include Boeing 737 MAX alerting extension in spending bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers are set to add to a government spending bill an extension of a looming deadline imposing a new safety standard for modern cockpit alerts for two new versions of Boeing's best-selling 737 MAX aircraft, sources told Reuters.

The U.S. planemaker has been lobbying for months to convince lawmakers to waive the Dec. 27 deadline that affects its MAX 7 and MAX 10 airplanes that was imposed by Congress in 2020 after two fatal 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Lawmakers are also expected to require new safety enhancements for existing MAX aircraft proposed by Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell.