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\n<\/div>\nThe UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has banned the Boeing 737 MAX from operating in or over UK airspace “as a precautionary measure”.<\/p>\n
The decision comes after\u00a0an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed on Sunday, killing 157 people on board. It was the second fatal accident involving the 737 Max 8 model in less than five months.<\/p>\n
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Countries including China, France and Germany have also grounded the jets.<\/p>\n
However, US officials say the aircraft are still safe to fly.<\/p>\n
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In a move that was welcomed by British pilots, the CAA said the directive would remain in place until further notice.<\/p>\n
In a statement, it said it took the decision because it did not currently have “sufficient information” from the flight data recorder about the fatal crash.<\/p>\n
Tui Airways and Norwegian both operate the Boeing Max 8 in the UK as part of their fleets.<\/p>\n
One Turkish Airlines flight to Birmingham turned around and returned to Istanbul.<\/p>\n
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A Tui statement confirmed their 737 Max 8 aircraft were grounded.<\/p>\n
“Any customers due to fly home today on a 737 MAX 8 from their holiday will be flown back on another aircraft,” it read.<\/p>\n
“Customers due to travel in the coming days will also travel on holiday as planned on other aircraft.”<\/p>\n
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Norwegian said it had also suspended flights of the aircraft and apologised for the inconvenience to passengers.<\/p>\n
Which other countries are affected?<\/b><\/p>\n
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has declared the 737 Max 8 airworthy.<\/p>\n
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But the largest operator of 737 Max 8s in America, Southwest Airlines, is offering passengers scheduled to fly on one of the Boeing planes the chance to change their bookings.<\/p>\n
Rival American Airlines said its “standard policies for changes still apply”.<\/p>\n
Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running to be the Democrats’ presidential candidate, called on the FAA “to get these planes out of the sky.”<\/p>\n
Boeing has confirmed that for the past few months it has been developing a “flight control software enhancement” for the aircraft, but says it is confident they are safe to fly.<\/p>\n
More than $27bn (\u00a321bn) has been wiped off the company’s market value since the close of trading on Friday.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the accident, Ethiopia, Singapore, China, France, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia have all temporarily suspended the 737 Max.<\/p>\n
Singapore’s Changi Airport is the world’s sixth busiest and a major hub connecting Asia to Europe and the US, but only a handful of airlines operate the Max 8 aircraft in and out of the country.<\/p>\n
No Australian airlines operate the Boeing 737 Max, and only two foreign airlines – SilkAir and Fiji Airways – fly the model into the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n