Roughly 19 months after the Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) 737 Max was grounded due to safety concerns, regulators have finally once again cleared the aircraft for takeoff.

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Why It’s Important: The 737 Max was originally grounded back in March 2019 following two crashes that killed a total of 346 people. Since then, Boeing’s stock price has plummeted 61.6%.

Throughout 2020, Boeing has struggled with a shrinking backlog of plane orders as global air travel has plummeted due to the pandemic. Boeing delivered just 11 planes in the month of September and has delivered only 98 planes year-to-date through the first three quarters of 2020. That delivery rate is about a third of its 2019 pace.

The 737 Max is a critical part of that remaining backlog and the potential rebound thesis for Boeing stock, accounting for 3,403 of Boeing’s remaining orders.

“We estimate 2021 sales at 74% of 2018 level, aided by MAX resumption, deferral of non-737 deliveries into 2021 from 2020, and stable Defense and Space revenues from government customers,” CFRA analyst Colin Scarola said in September.

Benzinga’s Take: Boeing shares gained 3.3% Friday on the news out of Europe. Investors will now be watching to see if and when the 737 Max gets the all-clear to return to the skies in the U.S.

Photo by Steve Lynes via Wikimedia.