Iran has joined the world countries to ban Boeing Max 737 flights over its airspace following the airplane’s disastrous accident that killed over 150 people in Ethiopia last Sunday, IRNA reports.
“The aircraft's flights over the Iranian airspace has been banned following its ban in many countries, including the US that manufactures the plane,” Iran Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) Spokesman Reza Jafar Zade said on Friday, saying a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) has been issued in this regard.
The ban comes after many countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia said they would not allow the plane to take off, land or even use their airspace.
Alos, Secretary of Iranian Association of Airlines, Maqsoud Asadi Samani, told IRNA that none of Iranian airlines operate this new series of Boeing aircraft.
“Under an agreement that Iran signed with Boeing after the Iran nuclear agreement, the American company was set to sell 50 Max 737, with a capacity of up to 160 passengers to Tehran but it was annulled after the US withdrawal from the 2015 treaty,” he told IRNA.
According to the agreement, Boeing was about to sell 80 aircraft to Iran.
'We will reconsider the purchase should the deal get back into force once again,' he warned.
The aircraft’s accident in Ethiopia last Sunday left 157 people dead and several others injured. Reports say the Ethiopian Airlines jetliner faced trouble rights after it took off from Addis Ababa airport.
The disaster was the second incident involving the aircraft after the October crash of another Boeing 737 Max 8, operated by Lion Air, in Indonesia. Both took place soon after takeoff, and the crews of both planes had sought to return to the airport, the New York Times reports.
Also, another Boeing 737 airplane, operated by Norwegian Air, had en emergency landing in Shiraz International Airport in southern Iran las December after an engine failure.