New Zealand Suspends Operation Of Boeing 737 MAX After Crash In Ethiopia - Authorities

New Zealand decided on Wednesday to suspend operation of Boeing 737 MAX planes over the recent aircraft crash in Ethiopia, the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2019) New Zealand decided on Wednesday to suspend operation of Boeing 737 MAX planes over the recent aircraft crash in Ethiopia, the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.

On Sunday, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All 157 people from more than 30 countries onboard the airplane died. That was the second fatal incident involving this type of plane. The first one occurred in Indonesia on October 29 last year and claimed 189 lives.

"New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority has suspended the operation of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to or from New Zealand. Currently this affects only one operator, Fiji Airways. There are no other airlines that fly this aircraft type to New Zealand," the CAA said in a statement.

Graeme Harris, the director of the CAA, pointed out that the suspension was temporary and would be in effect until causes of the air crash in Ethiopia were clarified.

"This is a temporary suspension while we continue to monitor the situation closely and analyze information as it comes to hand to determine the safety risks of continued operation of the Boeing 737 MAX to and from New Zealand .

.. The CAA regrets any inconvenience to passengers on Fiji Airways flights in and out of New Zealand but believes it is important to take this action until more information is available on the cause of the two B737 MAX accidents," Harris stressed.

According to the Radio New Zealand National broadcaster, Fiji has also decided to suspend operation of Boeing 737 MAX planes.

The move was supported by the Fiji Airways airline.

"In line with the stance taken by aviation regulators in our region, and an increasing number of operators worldwide, Fiji Airways, together with the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji, has taken the decision to temporarily ground its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft until more information is known about the cause of the Ethiopian Airlines accident," the airline said in a statement.

Canada's Sunwing low cost airline has also decided to suspend operation of Boeing 737 MAX jets.

At the same time the Japanese ANA airline said on Wednesday that it had not changed its plans to purchase 30 Boeing 737 MAX planes by 2021.

The European Union, Russia's S7 airline and some other countries have already suspended flights of Boeing 737 MAX jets after the incident in Ethiopia.