The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recognizes the sovereign states' rights to suspend flights of Boeing 737 MAX jets following the deadly crash in Ethiopia, ICAO Communications Chief Anthony Philbin told Sputnik on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2019) The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recognizes the sovereign states' rights to suspend flights of Boeing 737 MAX jets following the deadly crash in Ethiopia, ICAO Communications Chief Anthony Philbin told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"To clarify, it is countries and not ICAO which are responsible for implementing flight bans or restricting flight operations, etc. In the meantime ICAO recognizes the right of those national governments who may choose to act on the limited information currently available by taking immediate flight safety precautions regarding 737 Max 8 operations," Philbin said.
According to the ICAO representative, the organization is waiting for a final report on the plane crash in Ethiopia in order to analyze it and prepare further recommendations.
"Once the Final Report into this accident is available we will have verified and official causes and recommendations to consider," Philbin added.
On Sunday, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All 157 people from more than 30 countries aboard the airplane died. That was the second fatal incident involving this type of plane in just five months. The first one occurred in Indonesia on October 29 last year and claimed 189 lives.
The European Union, China, India, and many other countries have suspended flights of Boeing 737 MAX jets and banned them from their airspace after the incident in Ethiopia. Dozens of airlines, including Russia's S7, have announced they are grounding the aircraft.
