The stamp of approval affirms the airplane's handling, systems and overall performance all comply with required aviation regulations, Boeing said.

Keith Leverkuhn, 737 general manager, said on Wednesday he expected the certification "within a matter of days-weeks."

Boeing said it was in the final stages of preparing the aircraft, which is designed for 220 passengers, for its first delivery to Lion Air Group.

(Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru)