Tunisian government has barred the passage, takeoff and landing of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on its airspace, the country’s transport ministry said on Thursday.
No Tunisian airlines, including the state-owned carrier Tunisair, have any Boeing 737 MAX jets in their fleets, it said in a statement, adding that the decision was precautionary.
Meanwhile, Indonesia plans to send a flight inspector and an official from its transport safety agency to Ethiopia to help with the probe into Sunday’s crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet, Transport Ministry official Polana Pramesti said on Thursday.
Last October, the same Boeing model operated by budget carrier Lion Air crashed 13 minutes after take-off from the Indonesian capital Jakarta, killing all 189 on board.
Indonesia aims to “gather accurate information regarding the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft as well as helping the investigation process”, Pramesti said, adding that the ministry was waiting for approval from Ethiopian authorities.
Just after 6 minutes of takeoff from the Addis Ababa airport, officials lost contact with the plane and was later reported to have crashed. All 157 on board the flight, including all eight crew. The plane was travelling from Ethiopia to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
