Disruption is said to be likely as authorities look to avoid another disaster
China and Australia are among the nations confirmed to have temporarily suspended the Boeing 737 Max airplane from operating flights in and out of their airports.
On Sunday, a Max 8 aircraft flying between Ethiopia and Kenya crashed just minutes after take-off, killing all 157 people on board. It came just months after 189 people died when a Lion Air 737 Max 8 flight crossing Indonesia crashed into the Java Sea.
Australian aviation authorities announced their suspension on Tuesday with Singapore taking the same measure, leading to some flight cancellations and disruption as the Asian nation’s Changi Airport is the sixth busiest on the planet. South Korea are another reported to be preparing a ban on the Max fleet.
Indonesia and China have also suspended use of the aircraft in their national airlines, joining Cayman Airways, South Africa-based Comair, and the operator of Sunday’s crash, Ethiopian Airlines. The United States’ aviation authority have confirmed that they consider the model safe to fly.
The cause of the Lion Air flight remains under investigation with authorities recovering the black box recorders from the scene the Ethiopian Airlines incident on Monday.
Boeing shares fell five percent the day after flight ET302 crashed with the 737 Max fleet, which includes the Max 7 and 9, 10 and 200 models, thought to be the company’s highest selling jet ever. Over 5,000 were ordered by airlines but only around 350 have so far been delivered.
