China's aviation regulator has grounded nearly 100 Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by its airlines, more than a quarter of the global fleet of the jets, after a deadly crash of one of the planes in Ethiopia.
An Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board and prompting the carrier to ground the rest of its fleet of the jets.
It was the second crash of the 737 MAX 8, the latest version of Boeing's workhorse narrowbody jet that first entered service in 2017.
In October, a 737 MAX 8 operated by Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air crashed 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta on a domestic flight, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said all Chinese airlines had to suspend their use of the 737 MAX 8 by 6pm on Monday.
The CAAC said it would notify airlines as to when they could resume flying the jets after contacting Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure flight safety.
"Given that two accidents both involved newly delivered Boeing 737-8 planes and happened during take-off phase, they have some degree of similarity," the CAAC said, adding that the order was in line with its principle of zero-tolerance on safety hazards.
China Eastern's chairman, Liu Shaoyong, said it would only consider resuming 737 MAX 8 flights once Boeing issued a safety commitment for the jets and proved that there was no aircraft design link between the two crashes.
A preliminary report in November on the Indonesian crash, before the cockpit voice recorder was recovered, focused on airline maintenance and training and the response of a Boeing anti-stall system to a recently replaced sensor but did not give a reason for the crash.
Ethiopian Airlines grounded its four remaining 737 MAX 8 aircraft until further notice as an "extra safety precaution" even though it did not know the cause of Sunday's crash.
Cayman Airways said it had grounded both of its new 737 MAX 8 jets until it got more information.
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd said it was too early to comment on the Ethiopian accident or its effect on the 30 737 MAX 8 jets it has on order, while Air Niugini, which has ordered four, said it had "full confidence" in the Boeing product.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were no plans to ground planes, given the 737 MAX 8 had a stellar safety record in the US and there was a lack of information about the cause of the Ethiopian crash.
Chinese aviation expert Li Xiaojin said the grounding was "reasonable and justified"..
He said he did not anticipate a major problem since Chinese airlines operated fewer than 100 of the aircraft, compared with a combined fleet of more than 2000 planes.
Singapore Airlines Ltd, whose regional arm SilkAir operates the 737 MAX 8, said it was monitoring the situation closely, but its planes would operate as scheduled.
Fiji Airways and flydubai said they were confident in the airworthiness of their 737 MAX 8 fleets.
