US grounds Boeing 737 Max 8, 9 planes

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Southwest Airlines arrives for a landing at Hobby Airport, Wednesday afternoon, March 13, 2019 in Houston. The flight was already in the air on its way to Houston from Las Vegas when an emergency order grounding all 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft was issued on Wednesday. less A Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Southwest Airlines arrives for a landing at Hobby Airport, Wednesday afternoon, March 13, 2019 in Houston. The flight was already in the air on its way to Houston from Las Vegas ... more Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Staff Photographer Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 86 Caption Close US grounds Boeing 737 Max 8, 9 planes 1 / 86 Back to Gallery

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 planes will be grounded in the U.S.

In a televised interview, Trump said he had spoken with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing. They were all in agreement.

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"Any plane currently in the air will go to its destination and thereafter be grounded until further notice," Trump said.

According to the FAA, the groundings follow new evidence collected Wednesday at the Ethiopian Airlines crash site. The groundings will remain in effect pending further investigation.

Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at Hobby Airport, operates 34 of the Max 8 planes. This accounts for less than 5 percent of its 750-plane fleet.

In a statement, the airline said its goal is to "operate our schedule with every available aircraft in our fleet to meet out customers' expectations during the busy spring travel season."

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For travelers booked on a canceled Max 8 flight, the airline is waiving fare differences for new flights booked within 14 days of the original travel date and between the original cities.

"While we remain confident in the MAX 8 after completing more than 88,000 flight hours accrued over 41,000 flights, we support the actions of the FAA and other regulatory agencies and governments across the globe that have asked for further review of the data – including information from the flight data recorder – related to the recent accident involving the MAX 8," Southwest said in a statement. "The safety of our customers and employees is our uncompromising priority, and today's action reflects the commitment to supporting the current investigations and regulatory concerns."

The grounding of this plane comes just weeks after an unprecedented number of out-of-service aircraft led Southwest to declare an operational emergency.

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United Airlines, which has a hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport, has 14 of the 737 Max 9 planes in its fleet. The Max 9 planes account for about 40 flights a day.

"Since Sunday, we have been working diligently on contingency plans to prepare our fleet to minimize the impact to customers," the airline said in a statement. " ... Through a combination of spare aircraft and rebooking customers, we do not anticipate a significant operational impact as a result of this order. We will continue to work with our customers to help minimize any disruption to their travel."

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