Who is grounding Boeing’s 737 Max 8 planes?
In the wake of Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max series aircraft, the second crash in a ‘similar’ situation to one six months earlier off Jakarta, several of the world’s airlines have now grounded the planes as a precautionary measure.
At this stage both Thailand and India have not grounded the aircraft. China’s fleet of some 97 aircraft are the most affected by the groundings and will affect some scheduled flights into Thailand.
Here is the latest list of ‘groundings’ for the new series planes around the world…
Ethiopian Airlines
The carrier has grounded the remaining four Boeing 737 MAX 8s in its fleet until further notice, as an “extra safety precaution.”
China
Chinese airlines including the “Big Three” Chinese carriers, China Airlines, China Eastern and China Southern, operate 97 of the planes, according to state-run media. In the wake of Sunday’s crash, the country’s Civil Aviation Administration ordered all domestic 737 MAX 8 jets out of the air by 6 p.m. local time Monday, citing “zero tolerance for safety hazards.”
Singapore
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore announced Tuesday it was “temporarily suspending operation of all variants of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into and out of Singapore in light of two fatal accidents involving Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in less than five months.
“The suspension will start at 2 p.m. Singapore time and effect SilkAir, a regional carrier in the city-state, and the following airlines that fly into Singapore: China Southern Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Shandong Airlines and Thai Lion Air.
SilkAir previously said it had no plans to ground its six 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which operate between Bengaluru, Cairns, Chongqing, Darwin, Hiroshima, Hyderabad, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Phnom Penh, Phuket and Wuhan.
Indonesia
Indonesia temporarily grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes operated by its airlines on Monday, pending further inspections.In a statement, the Directorate General of Air Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation said the policy would “ensure that aircraft operating in Indonesia are in an airworthy condition.”
Australia
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has temporarily suspended airlines from flying all Boeing 737 MAX jets to or from Australia.
“This is a temporary suspension while we wait for more information to review the safety risks of continued operations of the Boeing 737 MAX to and from Australia,” CASA CEO Shane Carmody said.
No Australian airlines fly the 737 MAX, CASA said, but two foreign carriers had previously flown the aircraft into the country; Singapore’s SilkAir and Fiji Airways.
SilkAir has been temporarily barred from flying any 737 MAX out of Singapore by the city-state’s aviation authority, though Fiji Airways said Tuesday that it would continue flying the two 737 MAX 8s in its fleet.
CASA said in a statement it was working with Fiji Airways to minimise disruptions to passengers.
Aeromexico
The Mexican carrier is temporarily suspending the use of its six 737 MAX 8 planes “until more thorough information on the investigation of flight ET302 accident can be provided.”
AerolÃneas Argentinas
The Argentine airline said it would temporarily suspend commercial operations for the five 737 MAX 8s in its fleet.
Cayman Airways
Cayman Airways operates two new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. It said Monday it was grounding both planes “until more information is received.”
Comair Airways
The South African carrier said it would remove the 737 MAX 8 from its flight schedule, despite the fact that “neither regulatory authorities nor the manufacturer has required it to do so.”
“While Comair has done extensive preparatory work prior to the introduction of the first 737 MAX 8 into its fleet and remains confident in the inherent safety of the aircraft, it has decided temporarily not to schedule the aircraft while it consults with other operators, Boeing and technical experts,” the airline said in a statement.
Eastar
JetSouth Korean low-cost carrier Eastar Jet said it would temporarily ground its two 737 MAX 8 planes starting Wednesday to “dispel the worry and concern of the people.
“The company said operations would resume when there were no more safety concerns.
