Boeing forced to ground global f leet after crash that killed 157
Boeing has grounded its entire global fleet of 737 Max aircraft after new evidence was found by investigators at the scene of the Ethiopian crash.
The plane-maker said it would suspend all 371 of the jets. The news came after the Federal Aviation Administration banned them from US airspace.
Meanwhile it has emerged that passengers too nervous to board a Boeing 737 Max, if and when they return to service, will not be offered refunds.
Airlines around the world were stopped from using the aircraft as dozens of countries refused to let them fly following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, which killed all 157 people on board.
It came less than five months after a Lion Air plane came down off Indonesia, killing 189.
The manufacturer yesterday said it had grounded the entire fleet of 737 Max planes ‘out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety’.
Since the crash worried passengers have bombarded airlines with messages, expressing their concerns about the jets.
And the alert has prompted US-based travel website Kayak to introduce an option allowing customers to exclude specific types of plane from searches. But budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle has warned customers that it will be ‘unable to offer a refund or rebooking to passengers with future flights scheduled to be operated with Boeing 737 Max aircraft’.
Consumer group Which? has already warned travellers booked on flights that are cancelled because of the ban are highly unlikely to qualify for compensation under EU rules, because airlines will be able to blame
‘extraordinary circumstances’ beyond their control.
The chief executive of Norwegian, Bjorn Kjos, assured passengers booked to fly on one of the planes that they faced minimal disruption.
He said the airline was combining flights, reallocating aircraft and booking customers on other services. But he also made it clear that it would be demanding that Boeing pay for any costs it incurs as a result. in a video message he said: ‘We will send this bill to those that produce this aircraft.’
Other airlines including Britain’s Tui are expected to follow suit – potentially saddling Boeing with a huge compensation bill.
Boeing shares have fallen about 13 per cent since the crash, losing more than $25billion (£18.9billion).