The federal government has banned the use of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft from flying in Nigeria’s airspace, pending the conclusion of the investigation on the Ethiopian Airline’s flight ET302 which crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday.
The minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika stated this at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by President Muhamamdu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja on Wednesday.
Sirika who briefed newsmen at the end of the meeting that lasted for over two hours, said directives have been issued to that effect.
Recall that on Sunday an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft operating flight ET 302 en route Nairobi from Addis Ababa crashed six minutes after takeoff, killing all 157 persons on board.
Sirika said: “There is no cause for alarm; no operator is using that type of aircraft in the country. The civil aviation authority has already issued advisory that nobody should fly in or out of the country, using the Boeing 737 Max, pending the determination of the actual cause of the crash in Ethiopia and pending the outcome of the response of the manufacturers.
“Regardless of the enormous safety records of this machine, it has caused concern in the world of aviation. You know aviation is universal, there is no aviation A or B.
“We have issued directives that no operator with Boeing 737 Max aircraft should operate into or out of the country’s airports.”
