Now airspace closed to 737 MAX
singapore — Singapore, UK, Germany, France and Australia, among others, suspended operations of all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in and out of their airports on Tuesday, and Indonesia and China grounded their fleets of the US planemaker’ s latest model after it suffered a second fatal crash in less than five months.
The scare has wiped billions of dollars off the market value of the world’s biggest planemaker, as the Boeing Co share closed 5 per cent down on Monday having fallen by as much as 13.5 per cent at one point.
Nearly 40 per cent of the in-service fleet of 371 Boeing 737 MAXjets globally is grounded, according to industry publication including 97 jets in the biggest market, China.
A day after a Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet plunged to the ground, killing all 157 people aboard, the United States stressed it was safe to fly the planes. But a statement issued by Singapore’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAS) showed questionmarks hanging over the aircraft after Sunday’s disaster could not be dispelled so fast.
“During the temporary suspension, CAAS will gather more information and review the safety risk associated with the continued operation of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft into and out of Singapore,” the regulator said in a statement.
It was the first major regulator to order such an action, but the anxiety was also evident among air travellers, who rushed to find out from social media whether they were booked to fly on 737 MAX planes — the same model involved in the Lion Air crash off Indonesia that killed 189 people in October.
There has been no information yet to link the Lion Air and Ethio- pian Airlines incidents. Hours later, Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority followed Singapore’s lead with a temporary suspension to review the risks, citing the best interests of safety.
Later, Germany, UK, Austria, Ireland, Italy and France banned all Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes from its airspace.
Turkey’s Transport Ministry has also suspended all flights by Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 models, Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday, joining several nations that have suspended the aircraft after a crash in Ethiopia killed 157 people.
“Until the uncertainty surrounding the safety of the 737 MAX is clarified, we are withdrawing these planes from commercial flights from March 13,” airline boss Bilal Eksi said on Twitter.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a “continued airworthiness notification” for the 737 MAX late on Monday to assure operators, and detailed a series of design changes mandated by Boeing. Boeing issued a statement as well, saying it had been working with the FAA in the aftermath of a Lion Air crash to develop enhancements to flight control software that will be deployed across the 737 MAX fleet in coming weeks.
The new Max 8 variant of the 737, the world’s best-selling modern passenger aircraft, has bigger engines designed to use less fuel. It entered service in 2017.
With another 4,661 on order, 737 MAX 8s could become the workhorses for airlines around the globe for decades. Ethiopian Airlines, which has four other 737 MAX 8 jets, said it was grounding them as a precaution. Gol in Brazil temporarily suspended Max 8 flights, as did Argentina’s state airline Aerolineas Argentinas and Mexico’s Aeromexico.
Singapore Airlines, whose SilkAir brand operates 6 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, said it has temporarily withdrawn its fleet and would reaccommodate affected customers.