Boeing is set to pay the families of passengers who died in two 737 MAX crashes $144,500 each.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Boeing’s Chief Executive Officer, Dennis Muilenburg said the $50 million financial assistance fund which was announced in July will now be open to claims from affected families.

“We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of all those on board. The opening of this fund is an important step in our efforts to help affected families,” Muilenburg said in the statement.

He added that the company assumes that the 737 MAX will return to service in the United States and other countries in the autumn. He however did not give an exact date.

The bereaved family members will also not be required to give up their right to sue the company if they opt to claim money from the fund.

All 737 MAX planes have been banned from flying since March after crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed a total of 346 people in a space of five months.

In October 2018, a MAX aircraft operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air crashed, killing all 189 people on board.

A second crash happened in March this year in Ethiopia with nothing less than 157 people lost their lives in the crash, forcing regulators around the world to ground the plane.

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration Chief, Steve Dickson said Boeing was not yet ready to return the 737 MAX to service, with steps such as submitting a pre-production version of a software update yet to be completed.

A problem with the aircraft’s flight control software was initially identified as the cause but Boeing later said further software problems had been found which required further work.