TUI and Norweigan Airlines ground planes following Ethiopian Airlines model ban in UK airspace

12 March 2019, 12:33 | Updated: 12 March 2019, 16:37

The airlines will no longer be able to fly that specific model of plane during its ban from UK fly zones.

The UK have announced a ban on all arrivals, flyovers and departures of Boeiing 737 MAX 8 type aircrafts in its airspace following the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy involving this particular model of plane.

In the UK, both TUI and Norwegian Airlines have this model jet in their fleet and have grounded their planes as a result of the ban.

A spokesman for the UK civil aviation authority stated: "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".

Australia and Singapore have also issued bans on the model of short haul passenger jet as investigations are underway

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Ryanair faced backlash as although they don't own any of the model at the moment, they revealed that they currently have no plans to cancel an upcoming order of Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes.

Before the UK air space ban, CEO of the budget airline Michael O'Leary told the Irish Mirror they "wouldn't take any action at the moment" in regards to their upcoming order of planes.

But they added that they would "wait and see" the outcome of the probe into what caused the Ethiopian Airlines plane to crash.

Ryanair have reportedly ordered 135 of the planes from Boeing, the first of which will arrive in Ireland in April followed by more in May and June ready for European flights.

Former Aer Lingus pilot Eugene McCarthy told the Irish publication that he felt Boeing need to do more to address the issue after a previous crash involving the same model brought tragedy upon passengers of a Lion Air flight in October 2018.

He said: “I would like to see Boeing doing a little bit more, because it’s a new generation aircraft it is 14% more economical than the previous generation which means airlines will be flocking to buy them."

"You know, 350 off people have lost their lives so far so I think it's time for some radical action."

Heart.co.uk has reached out to Ryanair for comment.