New Delhi:
Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau says "all options are on the table" with regard to the country's fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft but says the government currently has no plans to order the grounding of the plane. A growing number of countries around the world have barred Boeing 737 MAX 8 from their airspace following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that claimed 157 lives on Sunday.
Garneau's comments came minutes after announcements from Britain, Germany, France and Ireland that they were grounding or closing airspace to the new Boeing plane involved in the Ethiopian Airlines disaster.
He later tweeted that he has cancelled all his meetings and public events on Tuesday to meet with his Civil Aviation Expert Panel and will consider all potential actions.
Canada is working with the US Federal Aviation Authority to determine if action is required.
The crash of Ethiopian Airlines plane came five months after another Boeing 737 MAX 8 of Lion Air crashed in Indonesia that killed 189 passengers and crew. Reports said there were similarities between the Ethiopian and Indonesian air crashes as they both occurred during take-off, involving new aircraft that had just been delivered.
No US airlines have grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8 models that they fly, but at least one group representing flight attendants at a major carrier says it does not want to put its members on the plane until further investigations are completed.
India has also grounded Boeing 737 MAX being operated by airlines in the country. “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. As always, passenger safety remains our top priority. We continue to consult closely with regulators around the world, airlines, and aircraft manufacturers to ensure passenger safety,” the aviation ministry said in a late-night tweet.
