Airbus' outgoing chief executive, Tom Enders, says the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will have to rebuild its reputation after the grounding of Boeing's 737 Max jets.

Enders said Boeing was a resilient company and he had every confidence that Airbus' chief rival would solve the problem with its 737 Max model. But the FAA's reputation would "not be so easy to repair," he said, speaking in Munich.

The FAA has played a global leadership role, but Enders said he expects other aviation regulators, including the EASA in Europe, may no longer rely on the US authorities the way have until now. "This could lead to delays in approvals."

The FAA was the agency that gave initial flight approval for the 737 Max jets, which have been grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes of the model in the space of six months.

Multiple aviation authorities grounded the plane immediately after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight on March 10, but the FAA waited a few extra days until additional evidence linking the accident to the planes emerged.