At least six countries have ordered the grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, citing the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another deadly accident of that same model in Indonesia, but many continue to fly.
Which countries have grounded aircraft so far?
China has ordered domestic airlines to suspend commercial operation of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, citing the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another deadly accident of that same model in Indonesia.
Noting the "similarities" between the two accidents, China's Civil Aviation Administration said domestic airlines had until 6pm local time to ground all 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
South Korea's transport ministry also announced that two of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets operated by budget airline Eastar Jet would be grounded pending an investigation, while the Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority announced it had ordered state-carrier Mongolia Airlines to ground it's single Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
Ethiopian Airlines, Cayman Airways and South African airline Comair also announced they were suspending the use of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 until further notice, on the recommendation of aeronautical authorities.
"Following the tragic accident of ET 302 ... Ethiopian Airlines has decided to ground all B-737 8 MAX fleet effective yesterday, March 10, until further notice," the state-owned carrier said in a statement released on Twitter.
Ethiopian Airlines has a fleet of four 737 MAX 8 jets, not counting the one that crashed on Sunday, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
Indonesia said it was grounding 11 of the jets - 10 of which are operated by Lion Air and one flown by national carrier Garuda.
Operation of the model will only resume after "confirming the relevant measures to effectively ensure flight safety", the administration said in a statement.
Do Australian airlines fly Boeing 737 MAX 8s?
But an Australian airline operations expert told SBS News that the model was still safe to fly, despite the similarities between the two crashes raising questions.
"With the investigations still ongoing with the Indonesian event, I'm not sure if there's any concern for the aircraft type yet until the evidence suggests there is something going on," Dr Peter Bruce from Swinburne University in Melbourne said.
"I think it will come down to seeing what evidence is consistent before any moves are made, to do anything against the fleet of MAX 8s, Dr Bruce said.
"There are quite a few MAX 8s in service around the world already and certainly Australia is getting some towards the end of the year."
Virgin Australia has confirmed it has ordered 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes - the first batch of which are due to arrive before the year's end.
A carrier spokesman told SBS News it was too early to comment on whether the Ethiopian crash would impact the order.
The airlines still flying the Boeing 737 Max 8
Wreckage of Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 which crashed en route to Nairobi Source: AAP
Elsewhere, airlines have said they will continue flying the aircraft pending an investigation, while others continued to operate without commenting.
Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft will continue to fly as normal in Fiji, Russia, the US, Canada, Turkey, Italy, Norway, Brazil, Iceland, Singapore and Dubai.
Icelandair's operations chief Jens Thordarson said it would be "premature" to link the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia together.
Fiji Airways, which includes the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in their fleet, told SBS News they had "full confidence in the airworthiness of our fleet".
"Fiji Airways followed a comprehensive induction process for our new Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft," a spokesperson said.
"We continue to ensure that our maintenance and training programme for pilots and engineers meets the highest safety standards."
Canada's transport minister echoed this sentiment, announcing he wouldn't ground dozens of the aircraft unless given reason to do so.
"I think it would be premature [to ground them]," Transport Minister Marc Garneau said, noting that the aircraft model has flow "millions of hours," Marc Garneau said.
Air Canada, Westjet and Sunwing operate 41 of the jetliners in this country.
Singaporean airline Silk Air, which services Australian locations including Cairns, Darwin and Kathmandu, will also continue to operate it's six 737 Max 8.
Meanwhile, Oman Air said it was in contact with Boeing "to understand if there are any implications for other airlines operating the same model".
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半年内两架波音737 MAX坠毁，这款畅销机型还安全吗？
