YYC Calgary International Airport to store grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes
The Calgary Airport Authority said it will be storing a number of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft after the planes were grounded worldwide on Wednesday following the deadly crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on the weekend.
Six minutes after takeoff on Sunday from Bole Airport in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, the flight crashed, killing 157 people — including 18 Canadians.
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Transport Canada said Wednesday it would ground all Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9 planes, a move that was quickly followed by the United States. Later in the day, Boeing issued a statement that in consultation with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board as well as aviation customers and authorities, it recommended the suspension of its entire 371-plane 737 MAX fleet.
According to Calgary Airport Authority spokesperson Reid Fiest, the airport is working with various airlines to help store about 10 of the affected planes.
The planes will be in storage on aprons around YYC, Fiest said. It’s unclear what planes from which airlines will be stored there.
In total, 13 flights were affected Wednesday at YYC — a combination of arrivals and departures, according to Fiest.
Lynn Nixon was one of the few remaining passengers flying on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane — arriving in Calgary from Toronto Wednesday morning. While she said there were no issues with the plane, she believes Canada taking action to ground the aircraft was a good move.
“[I] wasn’t overly worried, however, I think grounding them to find the problem is a good idea,” Nixon said.
“I think safety first. It inconveniences a lot of people and the airlines, but I’d sooner know it’s safe, so I’m OK with it.”
Air Canada currently has 24 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes in its fleet, while Calgary-based WestJet has 13.
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