Trinidad & Tobago: Opposition urges Gov’t to suspend Caribbean Airlines intended lease of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft

The main opposition United National Congress (UNC) Tuesday urged the Trinidad & Tobago Government to “take immediate action to suspend” the intended lease of 12 of the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, which had been involved in 2 fatal crashes over the past 6 months.

The latest incident occurred on Sunday when the Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya crashed soon after take-off, killing all 149 passengers and 8 member crew. The digital flight data recorder has since been located.

In a statement, the UNC said it was calling on the Works and Transport Minister, Rohan Sinanan, who has responsibility for the Civil Aviation Authority, “to do as other countries have done and implement a ban on airlines utilising this particular aircraft as a precautionary measure.

“While the UNC understands investigations into the latest fatal crash are still being conducted, it must be noted that several airlines and aviation authorities worldwide have either grounded their Boeing 737 Max 8 fleet or have restricted the aircraft model from entering or exiting their airspace,” the party said.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in a statement that it was suspending operations of all Boeing 737 Max aircraft across Europe.

It said it would also ban all commercial flights by 3rd-country operators in its airspace. “EASA is continuously analyzing the data as it becomes available. The accident investigation is currently ongoing, and it is too early to draw any conclusions as to the cause of the accident,” it said.

The state-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) in an updated statement since the crash on Sunday, said that the crash has raised speculative concern regarding the Boeing MAX 8 aircraft.

“The airline industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the world and there are rigorous processes and regulatory procedures to follow before any aircraft is brought into service. Caribbean Airlines will incorporate the procedural and training elements necessary to comply with all regulations and instructions before any new aircraft is introduced to its fleet.”

CAL said that it currently “does not have the Boeing MAX 8 aircraft as part of its fleet” and that it uses the Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft. -(CMC)