India joins the world aviation by grounding all Boeing 737 Max model aircraft following the Ethiopian Air disaster as DGCA ordered grounding till the problems are addressed.
SpiceJet has 13 jets of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 model in its 75-strong fleet while Jet Airways has five. Both airlines have suspended the operation of the jets after DGCA's decision to ground the planes "immediately".
The decision was taken three days after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed, killing 157 people including four Indians. Since then almost all the countries have grounded the Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes, the latest and best-selling variant of the US-based plane-maker.
The planes in India will stay grounded until modifications and safety measures are taken, the Civil Aviation Ministry had announced last evening.
The US aviation regulator said on Tuesday it would not ground the MAX 8 planes. It said a review by the body "shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft."
Boeing, the world's biggest planemaker, which has seen billions of dollars wiped off its market value since the crash, said it understood the countries' actions but retained "full confidence" in the 737 MAX and had safety as its priority.
Amongst the top 10 countries of aviation, except US and Japan all others have grounded the aircraft.
