Following the recent tragedy of an airplane crash in Ethiopia that killed 149 passengers and eight crew members on board, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 has been banned from operating.
The Ethiopian flight lost contact with air traffic controllers six minutes after take-off.
In October, the unexplained crash of another Boeing 737 MAX 8 in Indonesia killed 189 people.
The move to suspend the model has left a major impact on the aviation industry worldwide, despite Boeing saying it still has full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX.
After consultation with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and aviation authorities and its customers around the world, Boeing recommend to the FAA the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft.
"On behalf of the entire Boeing team, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives in these two tragic accidents," Boeing chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg said.
"We are doing everything we can to understand the cause of the accidents in partnership with the investigators, deploy safety enhancements and help ensure this does not happen again," he said.
The FAA made the decision as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the site.
The agency also said the evidence, together with satellite data, led to this decision.
The FAA said in a statement that "the grounding will remain in effect pending further investigation, including examination of information from the aircraft's flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders".
"An FAA team is in Ethiopia assisting the NTSB as parties to the investigation of the Flight 302 accident. The agency will continue to investigate," the statement said.
Here are the countries that have banned the model from flying so far:
- Australia
- Canada
- China
- European Union (28 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway)
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Vietnam
Theses are the operators who use the Boeing model according to the FAA:
| Country | Airlines that use Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
| Argentina | Aerolineas Argentinas |
| Belgium | TUI Airlines Belgium |
| Brazil | Gol Linhas Aereas S.A |
| Canada | Sunwing Airlines, WestJet |
| China | 9 Air, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Fuzhou Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Kunming Airlines, Lucky Air, Okay Airways |
| Czech Republic | Smartwings |
| Ethiopia | Ethiopia Airlines |
| Fiji | Air Fiji |
| Iceland | Iceland Air |
| India | Jet Airways, SpiceJet |
| Indonesia | Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air |
| Italy | Air Italy |
| Kazakhstan | SCAT Airlines |
| Mauritania | Mauritania Airlines |
| Mexico | Aeromexico |
| Mongolia | MIAT Mongolian Airlines |
| Morocco | Royal Air Maroc |
| Netherlands | Arkefly |
| Norway | Norwegian Air International, Norwegian Air Norway, Norwegian Air Shuttle AS, Norwegian Air Sweden |
| Oman | Oman Air |
| Panama | COPA Airlines |
| Poland | Enter Air Sp Z O.O., LOT Polish Airlines |
| Qatar | Qatar Airways |
| Russia | Globus Airlines |
| Singapore | SilkAir |
| South Africa | Comair |
| South Korea | Eastar Jet |
| Switzerland | Jet Aviation Business Jets |
| Thailand | Thai Lion |
| Turkey | Corendon Airlines, Turkish Airlines |
| United Arab Emirates | Flydubai |
| United Kingdom | Britannia Airways, TUI Airways |
| United States | American Airlines, Fertitta Enterprises Inc, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines |
These are the operators who have ordered the model but have not yet received them, according to the Boeing website:
| Country | Airlines that have ordered Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
| Australia | Virgin Australia Airlines |
| Canada | Jetlines |
| China | CALC, Okay Airways, Ruili Airlines |
| India | Jet Airways |
| Ireland | Avolon Aerospace Leasing Limit, Goshawk Aviation Limited, Jackson Square Aviation, Ryanair |
| Kuwait | ALAFCO |
| Nigeria | Air Peace, Arik Air |
| Oman | Oman Air |
| Papua New Guinea | Air Niugini |
| Romania | Blue Air, TAROM Romanian Air Transport |
| Russia | UTair Aviation |
| South Korea | Jeju Air, Korean Air |
| Spain | Air Europa |
| Thailand | Nok Air |
| Turkey | SunExpress Airlines, Turkmenistan Airlines |
| Ukraine | SkyUp Airlines |
| United States | Alaska Airlines, Boeing Capital Corporation, CIT Aerospace LLC, JIA |
| Vietnam | VietJet Air |
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