CANADA – The Canadian airline Sunwing Vacations has decided to ground its small fleet of 4 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
“For evolving commercial reasons unrelated to safety, including airspace restrictions imposed by some of our associated destinations, Sunwing Airlines has taken the decision to temporarily suspend the operations of our 4 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft,” the statement said.
“We are in the process of reviewing our flight schedule to accommodate the temporary removal of our MAX aircraft from the service and we appreciate the patience of our retail partners and customers as we work to communicate these updates.”
Sunwing’s decision is opposed to the trend in Canada.
The federal government has said so far that it will not land the 41 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines.
Air Canada has 24 aircraft of this type. WestJet with 13, and also has an order of 50 aircraft in total.
Canada and the United States prohibit the flight of the Boeing 737 Max 8
On Wednesday, Canada and the United States joined 40 other countries that have already left all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft on the ground, prohibiting these aircraft from flying in their airspace, after this model of aircraft was involved in a second deadly accident in less than five months.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said he made the decision after reviewing the satellite tracking data that indicated “a possible, if not proven, similarity” between the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed last weekend and the accident of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia last October.
The decision to ground the fleet is expected to cause major headaches in passenger travel, particularly as it occurs in the middle of the March vacation, one of the busiest travel times for families.
Story contributed by David Preacher
