Boeing moved on Saturday to ease tensions with regulators over the return to service of its 737 MAX, saying it was up to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and its global counterparts to approve changes to the jet in the wake of two accidents.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments and industry in Africa to focus on four priorities to allow aviation to drive economic and social development on the continent, enrich people's lives and enable the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG's).

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Tuesday it was revising its order requiring checks for structural cracks in Boeing 737 NG planes to cover a larger area after the company said additional cracks had been found.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has been investigating Air Guilin after one of its pilots invited a young woman into the cockpit during a flight earlier this year, which is an explicit violation of regulations.

At the Fifth Meeting of Directors General of Civil Aviation for the ICAO Middle East Region (DGCA-MID/5) in Kuwait City yesterday, ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu underscored that the continued enhancement of the implementation of ICAO's safety, security, and sustainability standards and recommend practices (SARPs), strategies, and other initiatives, is unlocking tremendous economic and other sustainable development benefits in the region.

Eight senior executives from Air Guilin were punished after one of its pilots had been banned from flying for life for inviting a young woman into the cockpit during a flight earlier this year.

U.S. and European regulators have asked Boeing Co to revise documentation on its proposed 737 MAX software fix, the planemaker confirmed Wednesday, further complicating its efforts to return the jet to service by year-end.

Brazilian government officials this week tempted airline executives with a pitch: Latin America's largest domestic aviation market is opening up and it badly needs more competition.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg acknowledged mistakes as he testified before the US Congress for the first time since two deadly air crashes of its 737 Max planes that killed 346 people, but he deflected tough questions such as why the company withheld details about its flawed new automated system.

At a heated Senate hearing Tuesday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the grounded 737 MAX jet will fly again only when "everyone is convinced it's safe".