VN aviation authority will not grant licences for Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircrafts

March 11, 2019 - 17:16

The Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAA) said it is not considering granting licences for the use of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in the country after the series was involved two deadly crashes within five months that left no survivors.

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft after a test flight in Seattle, United States, in March 2018. Questions have arisen about the safety of the product line after two deadly crashes. — AFP/VNA Photo
Viet Nam News

HÀ NỘI — The Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAA) said it is not considering granting licences for the use of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in the country after the series was involved in two deadly crashes within five months that left no survivors.

On Monday, CAA chief Đinh Việt Thắng said no Vietnamese airlines are currently using the aircraft.

“The first aircraft [in the order] is supposed to be delivered in October,” Thắng said. “This morning, we had a meeting about this issue and came to the decision that we will not be reviewing licences for the use of Boeing 737 MAX planes until the causes for the crashes are identified and the US Federal Aviation Administration takes proper remedying measures.”

Freshly launched Bamboo Airways was reportedly considering purchasing 25 aircrafts of the 737 MAX series.

There are currently 180 airplanes registered by Vietnamese carriers.

Airbus’ A350-900, A320, A312 and Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner and 747 are the most common planes in use by Vietnamese carriers.

China’s aviation authority earlier on Monday also ordered suspending the commercial operation of all 97 737 MAX8 planes in the country, citing “zero tolerance for safety hazards” after the Ethiopian crash killed all 157 people on board on Sunday.

Ethiopia also announced a complete grounding of the 737 MAX 8 fleet. — VNS

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