Calling the decision “a precautionary measure,” The decision comes after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing Max 8 crashed on Sunday, killing 157 people on board, the second fatal accident involving that model in less than five months, according to the BBC.
The UK joins Malaysia, Singapore, China, and Australia, in grounding the aircraft. The UK’s move comes a day after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it did not see a reason yet to ground the best-selling Boeing jets. Tui Airways and Norwegian both operate the Boeing Max 8 in the UK, reports CNBC.
Tui Airlines has confirmed they have grounded the 737 Max following the CAA decision. “Any customers due to fly home today on a 737 MAX 8 from their holiday will be flown back on another aircraft. Customers due to travel in the coming days will also travel on holiday as planned on other aircraft,” Tui said in a statement.
“The UK Civil Aviation Authority has been closely monitoring the situation, however, as we do not currently have sufficient information from the flight data recorder we have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace,” a CAA statement said.
Today’s decision by the CAA comes after the UK’s Telegraph revealed that families of the victims on the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight had called for a ban of the planes. Adrian Toole told The Telegraph the Max 8 should be grounded until authorities find out what went wrong.
His daughter Joanna, a 36-year-old UN worker, was one of 157 people killed when Flight ET302 crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday morning. Toole called on the British government to put “people before profit.”
