India regulator says checks of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets satisfactory

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's aviation regulator said on Monday that checks by domestic airlines of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft had been performed satisfactorily, after a cabin panel blew out on a new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 aircraft last week.

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday ordered all Indian operators with the 737 Max 8 aircraft to check the operation and proper closing of all over-wing emergency exits as a precautionary measure.

Indian airlines do not operate the 737 Max 9 aircraft.

The Alaska Airlines aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday as it climbed out of Portland, Oregon, triggering a temporary grounding of Max 9 jets in the United States.

Checks have been satisfactorily performed on four 737 Max 8 aircraft operated by Air India Express, eight by Spicejet, and 20 by Akasa Air, the Indian regulator said in a statement.

Spicejet said on Monday that the investigations produced no adverse findings and that its flight operations were not affected by the checks.

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann)