A flurry of aviation regulators, or air carriers, ranging from the United Kingdom to Malaysia, on Tuesday banned Boeing Co.’s BA, -5.39% 737 Max 8 jets, or variants.
The bans come after Sunday’s Ethiopian Airlines crash, which resulted in the deaths of 157 people near Addis Ababa.
The action comes despite the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s continued vouching for the safety of the plane as American authorities, Boeing and Ethiopian investigators probe the crash.
Australia on Tuesday said that “in light of the two recent fatal accidents, the temporary suspension of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operations was in the best interests of safety.” No Australian airline operates the plane, but two global carriers operate 737 Max planes in Australia, the country’s civil aviation regulator said.
Malaysia said it would ban 737 Max flights from entering and leaving the country, and Singapore said it was banning all 737 Max jets, while the U.K.’s ban is specific to the 737 Max 8 jets.
Statement: Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace.
You can read the full update online: https://t.co/xa1BUR7wJk pic.twitter.com/AsmhLElF0K
— UK Civil Aviation Authority (@UK_CAA) March 12, 2019
Norwegian Air said it would ground its Boeing 737 Max Fleet, according to reports:
NORWEGIAN AIR CONFIRMS IT WILL GROUND ITS BOEING 737 MAX 8 FLEET
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaOne) March 12, 2019
France’s Aviation Authority said it would ban 737 Max jets from its airspace, while reports also indicated that Ireland and Iceland intended on banning that model aircraft.
According to the Associated Press, Germany’s transport ministry said it is closing its airspace to 737 Max 8s, while Oman said it was “temporarily suspending” all flights by 737 Max jets, becoming the first nation in the Arabian Peninsula to ground the Boeing model.
Countries grounding Boeing 737 Max planes What is prohibited 1) Australia Boeing 737 Max 2) Malaysia Banning flights of 737 Max aircraft into and out of country 3) United Kingdom 737 Max 8 4) Norwegian Air Boeing 737 Max fleet 5) France (France’s Aviation Authority) Bans 737 Max jets 6) Germany Closing airspace to 737 Max 7) Oman Suspends temporarily 737 Max jets 8) Ireland (Irish Aviation Authority) Bans all variants of 737 Max planes 9) Iceland 737 Max 8 10) Singapore 737 Max 8 11) Turkish Airlines Grounds all Boeing 737 Max aircraft until further notice (AP) 12) Italy (Italy’s Aviation Authority) Bans commercial flights of 737 Max 8 13) Netherlands 737 Max 8 14) Europe’s EASA Suspends all 737 Max operations in Europe 15) China Bans 737 Max 8 16) India 737 Max 8 17) United Arab Emirates 737 Max 8 ban 18) Kuwait 737 Max 8 ban
China was among the first to ban the 737 Max on Monday.
The groundings by foreign regulators, which typically follow FAA safety determinations for American-built jets, has idled more than 50% of the 737 Max fleet around the world. Most of those are MAX 8s, the version involved in the Ethiopia crash.
Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Boeing employees are pictured in front of a 737 MAX 8 produced for Southwest Airlines as Boeing celebrates the 10,000th 737 to come off the production line in Renton, Washington, U.S., March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File Photo
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Boeing has delivered more than 370 Max planes to 47 customers, including leasing firms that place the jets with airlines around the world. U.S. carriers, sticking by the FAA guidance.
The Ethiopian crash came about four months after a Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed in Indonesia, fueling broader concerns about the safety of those aircraft. However, the specific cause, or causes, of the crashes hadn’t been determined.
Airline 737 Max jets Total fleet count 737 Max jets as % of capacity in 2018 WestJet 11 177 5.8% Air Canada 18 391 3.7% Southwest Airlines 31 750 3.4% American Airlines 20 1,551 0.9% United Continental 9 1,329 0.4% Copa Airlines 4 105 N/A Alaska Air 0 330 0.0% Diio Mi, Cowen & Co., company reports
The FAA had said Monday it had no plan to ground the jet, but the slate of groundings may put pressure on the agency.
“This investigation has just begun and to date we have not been provided data to draw any conclusions or take any actions,” the FAA said.
Shares of Boeing were down 7% Tuesday afternoon, after booking a 5.4% loss on Monday.
Still, the aviation and defense giant’s stock, which is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.27% has risen about 15.5% in 2019, outperforming the broader market. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.33% for example, has gained 11% since the beginning of the year, while the Dow has climbed by about 10% in the year’s first three months.
With reporting by the Wall Street Journal
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