No Boeing 737 aircraft will enter Indian airspace: Aviation Ministry

New Delhi: At a meeting with Indian airlines on Wednesday evening, the Civil Aviation ministry declared that it is banning Boeing 737 Max from overflying in the Indian airspace from 4 pm. The ministry is now preparing a contingency plan since several flights have been cancelled, a senior government official said. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had announced its decision on Tuesday to "immediately" ground aircraft, which is being used by airline companies in the country.

The DGCA also said that in order to tackle the complaints arising due to the cancellation of flights, it will set up a special cell. It added that it will also review airfares over the next two days to check predatory pricing in the sector. However, airlines have assured DGCA that they would not hike airfares because of non-availability of flights.

Airlines have also been told that they will be compensated for the losses incurred due to the grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Questions raised about new Boeing 737 MAX 8

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by the Ethiopian Airlines crashed minutes after take-off earlier this month, killing all 157 people on board, including four Indians. The Civil Aviation Ministry also banned the aircraft in Indian airspace. This new aircraft model also crashed in Indonesia in October.  The grounded flights include 12 such aircraft in SpiceJet's fleet and five in the Jet Airways fleet.

'No Boeing B737 aircraft will be allowed to enter Indian airspace'

"No B737 Max aircraft will be allowed to enter or transit Indian airspace effective 1600hrs IST or 1030 UTC. The timeline is to cater to situations where aircraft can be positioned at maintenance facilities & international flights can reach their destinations (sic)," the Ministry of Civil Aviation had tweeted earlier today before the evening meeting.