Vietnam joins wave of countries grounding Boeing 737 MAX

13-Mar-2019, 14:08

13 Mar 2019, 14:08

Several airlines have grounded the MAX 8s in their fleets, but many others are continuing to fly the plane pending an investigation into the crash and possible guidance from Boeing itself.

A passenger safety instruction card of Jet Airways Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane. (Reuters pic)

PARIS:

A number of countries have banned Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 medium-haul workhorse jet from their airspace in response to the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board.

Several airlines have grounded the MAX 8s in their fleets, but many others are continuing to fly the plane pending an investigation into the crash and possible guidance from Boeing itself.

Airlines still operating the model have been restricted by the airspace bans. Air Canada, for example, was obliged to cancel some flights to London because of Britain’s ban on the aircraft.

Greece’s civil aviation agency on Wednesday said it had closed its airspace to Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. “All airports have been ordered to ban flights of the specific model in Greek airspace as of yesterday afternoon,” civil aviation agency head Constantinos Lintzerakos told state news agency ANA.

The Nairobi-bound plane was the same type as the Indonesian Lion Air jet that crashed in October, killing 189 passengers and crew – and some officials have detected similarities between the two accidents.