SpiceJet Airlines suspends Boeing 737 MAX operations with immediate effect following DGCA orders

New Delhi: SpiceJet Airlines, one of India's airline majors has decided to suspend the operations of its Boeing 737 MAX aircrafts with immediate effect. The airline has taken the decision to ground its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft as a precautionary measure after the aviation watchdog -DGCA- banned use of aircraft. “Safety and security of our passengers, crew and operations are of utmost importance to us,” SpiceJet said in a brief statement on Wednesday. “We are abiding by the guidelines of DGCA and suspending Boeing 737 Max flights from today onwards,” the airlines said on Twitter. "DGCA has taken the decision to ground the Boeing 737-MAX planes immediately. These planes will be grounded till appropriate modifications and safety measures are undertaken to ensure their safe operations," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a tweet. "As always, passenger safety remains our top priority. We continue to consult closely with regulators around the world, airlines, and aircraft manufacturers to ensure passenger safety," it added. Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said that he has directed DGCA Secretary to hold an emergency meeting with all the airlines to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to passenger. "Directed Secy to hold an emergency meeting with all Airlines to prepare a contingency plan to avoid inconvenience to passengers. While passenger safety is a zero tolerance issue, efforts are already on to minimise the impact on passenger movement as their convenience is important," he tweeted. The order basically means SpiceJet will have to immediately ground the 12-13 B 737 Max planes it has. The five such planes of Jet Airways are anyways grounded for quite some time now, from before the Ethiopian plane crash on Sunday, due to non-payment of lease rentals. In a tweet on Monday, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu had said that he directed the DGCA to undertake safety assessment of Boeing 737-MAX planes being flown by domestic carriers.