China's aviation regulator wants 737 MAX to resume flights around Dec end

China's aviation regulator expects airlines will resume commercial operations with the Boeing Co 737 MAX by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, an official said on Friday.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which was the first regulator globally to ground the MAX in March 2019 after two deadly crashes, on Thursday provided airlines with a list of fixes required before the MAX returns to service.

The planes will need to be modified and removed from storage and pilots will require additional training before the existing MAX fleet in China can resume commercial services and Boeing can restart deliveries of new planes, CAAC official Yang Zhenmei told reporters.

She did not comment on the status of China's ban of the MAX from its airspace, which has also prevented foreign operators from flying the plane into the country.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu in Beijing and Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Himani Sarkar)