MONTREAL — Air Canada has pushed back the relaunch date of its Boeing 737 Max aircraft to Feb. 14, as regulatory uncertainty continues to plague the troubled aircraft.

The airline announced back in July that it would be grounding the plane from its schedules until at least Jan. 8. The decision to extend that date, says Air Canada, is based on operational considerations as it prepares to launch a new reservation system beginning next month.

“We are taking this prudent step as a result of the ongoing regulatory uncertainty about the timing of the aircraft returning to service. The extension will give us scheduling predictability through the implementation of the first phase of our new reservation system and the required stability as we prepare the second phase of the system rollout, introducing it into the airport environment,” said Lucie Guillemette, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada.

“As a result of these and other measures we are taking, including leasing two additional wide-body aircraft through at least the March Break, customers can continue to book with full confidence on Air Canada.”

Air Canada has 24 Max 8 aircraft, which comprises approximately 20% of its narrow-body fleet and typically carry 11,000 passengers per day, mainly on domestic and U.S. routes. Another 14 Max planes were scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2020 but have since been pushed back.