WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said Wednesday the planemaker will only support the operation of its airplanes if is "100%" confident in their safety.

"We don't put planes in the air that we don't have 100% confidence in," Calhoun told reporters on Capitol Hill before one of a series of meetings with senators after the Jan. 6 737 MAX 9 grounding.

He referred a question about a Seattle Times report that Boeing had removed a component that blew out on an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 to the National Transportation Safety Board. (Reporting by David Shepardson and Valerie Insinna; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)