Flight operations at airports around the world have already been affected by the decision of regulators to ground Boeing’s newest model of aircraft.
However, it’s not expected that the issues, in light of the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash this past Sunday, will affect flights at Shannon Airport at this time.
Around a third of aviation authorities worldwide have now grounded the Boeing 737 Max aircraft after one of the planes was involved in Sunday’s fatal crash, which claimed the lives of 157 people including Lahinch engineer Micheál Ryan.
It was the second fatal accident involving the aircraft in six months.
The plane now cannot fly in a host of countries, including all of the EU, and this has already seen some flights cancelled at Dublin and elsewhere.
Norwegian Air, which is due to resume flights from Shannon to Providence and Stewart Airports at the end of this month, has grounded its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft though it’s other aircraft are unaffected.
A spokesperson at Shannon Airport has told Clare FM that there are no Max aircraft operating there at this time, so it’s not expected that there will be any disruption at present.
However, should the issues continue into the summer season, there is a potential impact but it is hoped that the intervening time period will allow carriers to put contingency plans in place.
Commenting on the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, a spokesperson for Shannon Airport has said “No Shannon Airport services are currently affected by the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. We are closely monitoring the situation in relation to flights due to resume at the end of this month.”
