EU and Australia Close Airspace To Boeing 737 MAX Planes

Following Ethiopian crash


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EU has joined Australian authorities in closing its airspace to Boeing 737 MAX planes.

The ban comes after a new Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 went down on Sunday, minutes into a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board.

This is the same model plane which crashed shortly after take off in Jakarta, killing 189 people. 

No Australian airlines operate the 737 MAX aircraft - although two foreign airlines, Fiji Airways and SilkAir fly the craft to Australia.

Both airlines have now suspended the aircraft's operations to and from Australia.

Virgin Australia has 30 of the jets on order, with the first due to be delivered before the end of 2019.

While it hasn't cancelled those planes, an airline spokesperson said safety was Virgin's number one priority.

"Virgin Australia will not introduce any new aircraft to the fleet unless we are completely satisfied with its safety," the airline said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to work with Boeing, CASA, and other relevant authorities as more information becomes available."

Virgin does not currently have Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in its fleet.

There are currently 350 MAX planes in service, and more than 5000 on order.

US President Donald Trump has tweeted about the situation claiming “planes are becoming far too complex to fly”.

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12 March 2019




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