A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: "Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the tragic incident in Ethiopia on Sunday.

"The UK Civil Aviation Authority has been closely monitoring the situation, however, as we do not currently have sufficient information from the flight data recorder we have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace.

"The UK Civil Aviation Authority's safety directive will be in place until further notice.

"We remain in close contact with the European Aviation Safety Agency ( EASA ) and industry regulators globally."

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

There are currently five 737 MAX aircraft registered and operational in the United Kingdom. A sixth is planned to commence operations later this week.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for certifying all Boeing 737 MAX models and it is the European Aviation Safety Agency ( EASA ) that validates this certification across the EU, including the UK.

Civil Aviation Authority SAFETY AND OPERATIONAL DIRECTIVE: Boeing 737-8 "MAX" and Boeing 737-9 "MAX" Limitation of Operations due to a Fatal Accident in Ethiopia on 10 March 2019



