The Civil Aviation Ministry will hold a meeting with airlines at 4 pm on Wednesday to prepare a contingency plan as a number of flights have been cancelled following the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, a senior government official said. On Tuesday night, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced its decision to “immediately” ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that are currently being used by airline companies in India.
“We will ground all 737 Max 8 aircraft, which are currently in use by Indian airlines, by 4 pm today,” a DGCA official told PTI on Wednesday morning. The decision came days after a 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by the Ethiopian Airlines crashed near Addis Ababa killing 157 people, including four Indians. SpiceJet has around 12 such aircraft in its fleet. Jet Airways has five, which have been already grounded. “The meeting regarding a contingency plan will happen with airlines at 4 pm Wednesday,” a civil aviation ministry official said. A DGCA spokesperson, on Wednesday morning, said,” The B737Max operations will stop from/to all Indian airport’s.
