Vietnam officially bans Boeing 737 Max from flying in national airspace

Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam Dinh Viet Thang said that the agency had just held an emergency meeting and decided to ban all Boeing 737 Max 8/9 aircraft from flying over Vietnam's airspace.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has just decided to ban all Boeing 737 Max 8/9 aircraft from flying over Vietnam's airspace.

Specifically, after evaluating information related to the operation of Boeing 737 Max 8/9 aircraft, to ensure aviation safety, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam decided to temporarily not issue new flight permits and suspend the validity of already issued flight permits for flights using Boeing 737 Max aircraft in Vietnam's airspace. This safety directive takes effect from 10:00 (ie 03:00 UTC) on March 13, 2019 until a new decision is made.

Previously, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam also announced that it would not consider granting type certificates for Boeing 737 Max aircraft until the cause is clarified and the US Federal Aviation Administration takes corrective measures, if any.

Currently, Vietnamese airlines have not yet operated the Boeing 737 Max aircraft. Only Vietjet has signed a contract to purchase 200 of these aircraft, the first of which is expected to arrive in October this year. Regarding the information about the accident related to the 737 Max aircraft, Vietjet Deputy General Director Dinh Viet Phuong also said: "We are still carefully following the information related to this type of aircraft."