Nations, airlines grounding their Boeing 737 MAX planes

Reuters , Tuesday 12 Mar 2019

Max
Ground crew chat near a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane operated by Shanghai Airlines parked on tarmac at Hongqiao airport in Shanghai, China, Tuesday, March 12, 2019. nded the new Boeing plane involved in the crash. (AP Photo)

The European Union's aviation safety agency EASA suspended all flights in the bloc by Boeing's 737-8 and 737-9 aircraft following Sunday's deadly plane crash in Ethiopia.

Swiss authorities said they had also banned the 737 MAX 8 aircraft, following the EU decision.

China and Indonesia also grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by their airlines, Singapore and Australia have suspended operations of all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in and out of their airports and Ethiopian Airlines has grounded its MAX 8 jets.

Boeing has reiterated the investigation into the crash remains in its early stages and it has no basis to issue new guidance to operators.

Other airlines continue to operate the narrowbody jet. Here is what airlines and regulators have said so far:

AIR CANADA

"We have offered our assistance and are following closely the investigation. We have operated this aircraft type since 2017 and currently have 24 in our fleet. These aircraft have performed excellently from a safety, reliability and customer satisfaction perspective."

AMERICAN AIRLINES

The company said it remained fully confident in the aircraft and that it was closely monitoring the investigation.

AUSTRALIA'S CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY

The regulator said it had temporarily suspended the operation of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to or from the country.

BRAZIL'S AIR TRAVEL REGULATOR

The regulator said it was not grounding the aircraft and that it was following the investigation.

CAYMAN AIRWAYS

The airline said it had grounded both of its MAX 8 jets until it got more information on the crash.

CHINA'S AVIATION REGULATOR

The regulator grounded 96 MAX 8s including those operated by Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines.

Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines operate 45 MAX 8 planes.

COMAIR

The South African airline said that it would remove 737 MAX 8 jets from its schedule. It has ordered eight aircraft of this type but has only received one so far.

EUROPEAN UNION'S AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY EASA

The EASA suspended all flights in the bloc by Boeing's 737-8 and 737-9 aircraft.

"EASA has decided to suspend all flight operations of the two affected models," the agency said in a statement.

FIJI AIRWAYS

The airline which operates 2 MAX 8 planes said it was confident in the jet.

FLYDUBAI

"We are monitoring the situation and continue to be in touch with Boeing. We remain confident in the airworthiness of our fleet." The airline has 12 MAX 8 jets in its fleet.

A flydubai spokeswoman said that post review of the continued airworthiness notification received from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), no further action was required.

INDIA'S DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIATION (DGCA)

The regulator said it would issue additional safety instructions to Indian carriers operating the MAX 8. Jet Airways and SpiceJet Ltd operate the plane.

SPICEJET

The low-cost Indian airline said all 12 of its MAX 8s were currently flying and the company has ordered another 155 MAX planes.

NORWEGIAN AIR

The company will temporarily ground its MAX 8 passenger jets at the advice of European regulators.

"Following the decision by the relevant aviation regulatory bodies to temporarily suspend operations of Boeing 737 MAX, Norwegian will not operate any flights with this aircraft type until further notice," the company, which operates 18 'MAX' passenger jets, said.

SINGAPORE'S CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY (CAAS)

Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority suspended operations of all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in and out of the country.

Singapore Airlines said its unit Silk Air, which operates 6 MAX 8 planes, has temporarily withdrawn them from service.

SOUTH KOREA TRANSPORT MINISTRY

South Korea is conducting an emergency inspection on Eastar Jet's two MAX 8 jets, a ministry official said.

The South Korean budget carrier Eastar Jet said it would temporarily ground its two 737 MAX 8s from Wednesday to better cooperate with the government's required emergency safety inspections, an airline spokesman said on Tuesday.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

The U.S. airline said it remained fully confident in the aircraft and was closely monitoring the investigation.

SWISS FEDERAL OFFICE OF CIVIL AVIATION

"The European Union's aviation safety regulator suspended all flights by B7378 MAX. This is also valid for Switzerland," the Swiss federal office of civil aviation said on Twitter.

TUI AIRWAYS

Germany's TUI Group, the largest leisure, travel and tourism company in the world, said it was discontinuing all Boeing 737 MAX 8 flights across all airlines of the group.

TURKISH AIRLINES

"We are in contact with Boeing, the aircraft producer, on the operations of the Boeing 737 Max," CEO Bilal Eksi tweeted. "Flight safety is our priority. We are closely monitoring developments. We are carrying out all our operations by keeping flight safety at the highest level."

The airline operates 13 MAX 8 planes

THE UAE GENERAL CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY

The civil aviation regulator said it had joined the investigation into Sunday's fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane and will collect data with the United States' Federal Aviation Administration and planemaker Boeing, according to a statement carried by state news agency WAM.

UK CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY

Britain on Tuesday suspended flights of the 737 MAX aircraft over its territory.

"We have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace," a spokesperson said in a statement.

CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY OF VIETNAM (CAAV)

Vietnam state media reported the aviation regulator will not issue licences to local airlines to operate the 737 MAX until the cause of the Ethiopian crash is determined.

BAMBOO AIRWAYS

The Vietnamese airline, which announced last month it was in talks to buy 25 Boeing 737 planes, declined to comment.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA

The Australian airline said it will continue to work with Boeing, the airline does not have any 737 MAX 8 aircraft currently and said its first delivery was not due until November.

WESTJET

"We are monitoring the situation closely and will not speculate on the cause of the incident at this time. We have 13 MAX aircraft in our fleet of 121 Boeing 737s." 

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