Garuda cancels orders for 737 MAX 8
Indonesian airline Garuda is believed to have become the first to cancel orders of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane after it was involved in two fatal accidents just five months apart.
The airline has told Boeing it no longer wants the 49 MAX 8 aircraft it had on order as its passengers have lost confidence in the plane.
Its decision to cancel the order, valued at around $6 billion, was made a week after one of the jets crashed in Ethiopia shortly after take-off, killing all 157 onboard.
The accident followed another fatal crash of a 737 MAX 8 belonging to Garuda’s Indonesian rival Lion Air last October.
A Garuda spokesman said customers no longer trusted the plane after initial investigations found the two accidents were linked.
Boeing has stopped deliveries of the MAX 8, which has been temporarily banned from flying by air safety authorities around the world, including the CAA in the UK, until the cause of the latest crash is known and any potential fault with the aircraft fixed.
The aircraft manufacturer is understood to be planning to install an extra cockpit warning light, which could have helped pilots on the two doomed flights. Until now, the warning light was offered but not mandatory.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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