Hanoi (Viet Nam News)— The Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAA) said it is not considering granting licences for the use of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in the country after the series was involved in two deadly crashes within five months that left no survivors.
On Monday, CAA chief Đinh Việt Thắng said no Vietnamese airlines are currently using the aircraft.
Budget-friendly carrier Vietjet Air placed an order for 100 737 MAX airplanes in late February, including 80 737 MAX 10 and 20 of the MAX 8 model, when US President Donald Trump met with Vietnamese leaders in Hà Nội before the second summit with the chairman of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kim Jong Un.
“The first aircraft [in the order] is supposed to be delivered in October,” Thắng said. “This morning, we had a meeting about this issue and came to the decision that we will not be reviewing licences for the use of Boeing 737 MAX planes until the causes for the crashes are identified and the US Federal Aviation Administration takes proper remedying measures.”
Freshly launched Bamboo Airways was reportedly considering purchasing 25 aircrafts of the 737 MAX series.
There are currently 180 airplanes registered by Vietnamese carriers.
Airbus’ A350-900, A320, A312 and Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner and 747 are the most common planes in use by Vietnamese carriers.
China’s aviation authority earlier on Monday also ordered suspending the commercial operation of all 97 737 MAX8 planes in the country, citing “zero tolerance for safety hazards” after the Ethiopian crash killed all 157 people on board on Sunday.
Ethiopia also announced a complete grounding of the 737 MAX 8 fleet.
http://vietnamnews.vn/society/506863/vn-aviation-authority-will-not-gran...
