India banned the use of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft by the country’s airline companies in the aftermath of Ethiopian Airlines crash, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said on Tuesday.
“DGCA has taken the decision to ground the Boeing 737-MAX planes immediately. These planes will be grounded till appropriate modifications and safety measures are undertaken to ensure their safe operations,” the MoCA tweeted.
It further said passenger safety remains top priority and that it continues “to consult closely with regulators around the world, airlines, and aircraft manufacturers to ensure passenger safety.”
While SpiceJet has around 12 ‘737 Max 8’ planes in its fleet, Jet Airways has five.
With the move, India joined a growing list of countries to ban Boeing 737 MAX planes from their airspace. The development comes two days after a similar Boeing model flown by Ethiopian Airlines crashed near Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board, including four Indians.
This was second such crash involving the 737 MAX 8 aircraft in less than five months. In October last year, an aircraft operated by Lion Air crashed killing over 180 people in Indonesia.