Passengers are facing uncertainty after several countries announced they were banning all Boeing 737 MAX planes from their airspace following the tragic Ethiopian Airlines crash.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) confirmed that the aircraft would not be ‘arriving, departing or overflying Irish airspace’ and that the situation is being monitored.
Norwegian Air has so far cancelled two flights out of Dublin Airport – Tuesday's 14.55 to Providence, Rhode Island and the 15.20 to Newburgh, New York, and
said they ‘will not operate any flights with this aircraft type until further notice’.
The return leg to Dublin for those flights have also been cancelled, and the airline has said they are looking into rebooking people onto other flights. Anyone affected will be notified by text message.
https://twitter.com/Fly_Norwegian/status/1105507860979609601
Countries including the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Singapore and Australia have also banned the aircraft which has caused difficulty for travellers.
Two Turkish Airlines planes were forced to turn back mid-flight following the UK's announcement today, as reported by
The Independent.
The IAA released a statement that read, ‘The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has decided to temporarily suspend the operation of all variants of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into and out of Irish airspace, in the light of the two fatal accidents involving the aircraft in recent months.
‘This decision has been taken based on ensuring the continued safety of passengers and flight crew, which is the IAA’s number one priority.
‘The IAA 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 flights on Boeing 737 MAX from any operator arriving, departing or overflying Irish airspace.’
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