The UK has banned the Boeing 737 MAX from flying in and out of its airports after the Ethiopia crash that left 157 dead. British travel operator TUI has confirmed that all of its 737 MAX 8 fleet has been grounded. A spokesperson from the company said: "Any customers due to fly home today on a 737 MAX 8 from their holiday will be flown back on another aircraft. "Customers due to travel in the coming days will also travel on holiday as planned on other aircraft. "The safety and well-being of our customers and staff has remained our primary concern." Advertisement Norwegian airlines, which flies planes out of the UK, has also suspended flights of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Tomas Hesthammer, the company's acting chief operating officer, said: "In response to the temporary suspension of Boeing 737 MAX operations by multiple aviation authorities we have taken the decision to not operate flights using this aircraft type, until advised otherwise by the relevant aviation authorities. "We would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenienced caused, however, safety will always remain our top priority." Have you been affected by the ban? Get in touch with your story: :: WhatsApp - 07583 000 853 :: Email - news@sky.com :: 'Your Report' on Sky News apps Image: A woman stands near a pile of debris from the Ethiopian Airlines wreckage Announcing the suspension of the Boeing planes, the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: "(We have) been closely monitoring the situation, however, as we do not currently have sufficient information from the flight data recorder we have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace." The safety directive is in place until further notice. It comes after Australia's civil aviation authority and a South Korean airline followed others in announcing the move. China, South Africa, Singapore, Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico suspended flights by the same plane on Monday. The suspensions come after 157 people were killed on Sunday when a 737 MAX 8 crashed in Ethiopia. Nine Britons were among the dead. Image: An official holds up passports recovered from the wreckage Boeing's chief exeuctive officer Dennis Muilenburg has said in a message to employees: "It was with a heavy heart we learned yesterday of the loss of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 - a feeling I know I share with all of you across Boeing. "Tragedies like this affect the entire aerospace industry and remind us of our leadership role, our enduring commitment to safety-both at Boeing and industry-wide-and the importance of the work that we do to connect people around the world. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew on board." Boeing said it had been developing a flight control software enhancement for several months after the Lion Air Flight 610 disaster last year. The 737 Max 8 plane crashed into the sea off Indonesia and killed all 189 on board. Boeing said the software changes were designed to make "an already safe aircraft even safer". However, two major crashes in the space of less than five months have raised questions about the safety of the aircraft. About 350 are currently in service with airlines around the world, but thousands more are on order. Boeing said the software enhancements included limiting stabiliser trim commands in response to erroneous readings, pilot displays, operation manuals and crew training. It said it believed the updates would be granted a Airworthiness Directive (AD) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) no later than April. Boeing has said it has no reason to pull the popular aircraft from the skies. An Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 crashed minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa on Sunday. The airline grounded its remaining four Boeing 737 MAX 8s until further notice as "an extra safety precaution" on Monday. Image: People mourn during a memorial service for the crew members who died in the accident Both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders have now been recovered. US aviation experts joined an Ethiopian-led investigation into the crash on Tuesday. The FAA arrived at the crash site outside the capital, Addis Ababa, with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board. Meanwhile, witnesses have described seeing smoke billowing out of the rear of the plane and a loud noise before it hit the ground. Officials have contacted the families of all those killed in the tragedy with the victims coming from 35 nations. British UN worker Joanna Toole, a 36-year-old from Devon, has been identified as one of those who died. Image: Joanna Toole has been named as one of the plane crash victims Colleagues at the UN fisheries and aquaculture department described Ms Toole as a "wonderful human being", while her father said she was a "very soft and loving" woman. One Irish victim was named as Michael Ryan, a married father of two based in Rome with the UN's World Food Programme, which distributes rations to people in need. Also among the dead was polar tourism expert Sarah Auffret, who was making her way to Nairobi to discuss tackling plastic pollution in the world's seas. As many as 19 UN workers were feared to have been killed in the crash. Manuel Barange, a UN director, said he was "profoundly sad and lost for words" over her death, saying she had been travelling to Nairobi to represent the organisation at the UN Environment Assembly. Image: A shirt belonging to one of the victims of the crash Also on board was Joseph Waithaka, a 55-year-old who lived in Hull for a decade before moving back to his native Kenya, his son told the Hull Daily Mail. Briton Sam Pegram - an aid worker from Preston - was also on board the jet. His mother Deborah told the Lancashire Evening Post: "Sam was so looking forward to going to Nairobi. He loved the work he was doing. "We can't believe this has happened. We're totally devastated." Sahra Hassan Said and Nasrudin Abdulkadir, a mother and son with dual Somali-British citizenship, were also killed. Prime Minister Theresa May said she was "deeply saddened" by the disaster, and offered her condolences to everyone "affected by this tragic incident". Six members of a Canadian family who were heading to Kenya for a safari vacation were killed in the crash. The family was made up of teenagers, their parents and grandparents. Doctors and a prominent football official are also believed to be among the dead. The mother of an Ethiopian Airlines crew member who died in the crash has been seen wailing by the plane wreckage. Kebebew Legess, whose nationality has not been reported, said: "She would have been 25-years-old but God would not allow her. "My daughter, my little one." Families of those killed on the flight have been told they will have to wait at least five days to begin receiving some victims' remains. Due to the impact and ensuing fire, the identification of some remains could take weeks or months. The process, which may need to be done via dental records or DNA, will be complicated because the victims came from more than 30 countries. Ethiopia also has limited forensic capabilities, an industry expert said. Image: Ethiopian Airlines crew members were among the 157 who died Many of the passengers were from Kenya, but others were said to be from Italy, France, the US, Canada, Ethiopia, Egypt, Germany, Slovakia, India and China. On Sunday, visibility was clear but air traffic monitor Flightradar24 said "vertical speed was unstable after take-off". The pilot had sent out a distress call and was given the all clear to return, according to the airline's chief executive Tewolde GebreMariam. Senior captain Yared Getachew had a "commendable performance" having completed more than 8,000 hours in the air, the airline said. The plane had flown from Johannesburg to the Ethiopian capital earlier on Sunday morning, and had undergone a "rigorous" testing on 4 February, a statement continued.<doc-sep>Boeing shares traded in the green for the first time in three days Wednesday, following their biggest two-day decline in a decade, as the list of authorities around the world who have grounded the planemaker's flagship 737 MAX 8 jet, in defiance of safety assurances from the Federal Aviation Administration continues to expand. Boeing Co. (BA) - Get Report shares traded in the green for the first time in three days Wednesday, following their biggest two-day decline in a decade, as the list of authorities around the world who have grounded the planemaker's flagship 737 MAX 8 jet, in defiance of safety assurances from the Federal Aviation Administration continues to expand. Hong Kong joined the list of nations and carriers that have banned the use of the MAX 8, representing more than two-thirds of the plane's global market, following Sunday's crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 from Addis Ababa Sunday that killed all 157 passengers and raised significant concerns for Boeing's most profitable aircraft. The plane's safety record, however, was defended by both Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg in a phone conversation with President Donald Trump, according to multiple media reports, and the FAA itself, which reiterated an earlier statement on the MAX' air worthiness. "The FAA continues to review extensively all available data and aggregate safety performance from operators and pilots of the Boeing 737 MAX," the agency said in a statement Tuesday. "Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft. Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action." "In the course of our urgent review of data on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, if any issues affecting the continued airworthiness of the aircraft are identified, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action," it added. Boeing shares were marked 1% higher at the start of trading Wednesday to change hands at $379.37 each following Boeing's largest two-day percentage decline since June 2009 that hived more than $26.35 billion from the company's market value. Boeing has insisted it has "full confidence in the safety of the MAX. ... We'll continue to engage with (all civil authorities) to ensure they have all the information they need to have the confidence they need (to) safely continue to operate their fleets or return them to service." "It is also important to note that the Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators," the company said. The cause of Sunday's disaster, which followed a deadly crash of a Lion Air flight off the coast of Indonesia in October, has not yet been determined. However, control-tower recordings suggest the pilot was having early difficulties and eyewitnesses reported seeing flames from the jet prior to its crash. Both of the flight's black boxes have been recovered and are being analyzed by investigators and reports say Ethiopian authorities will send the data to investigators in the United States. Boeing's 737 lineup, perhaps its most important program, contributes around a third of the the Chicago-based planemaker's bottom line, as well as a fifth of its sales, and has a back order log of nearly 5,000 units.<doc-sep>Tweeps are divided on the decision by Comair to temporarily ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, just hours after they said they would keep theirs in operation after the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday. The head of Comair's airline division, Wrenelle Stander, said although they are still confident on the state of their planes, the safety and confidence of their customers are paramount to the company that operates Kulula and British Airways flights. While some Tweeps were unimpressed with the sudden change of heart and went as far as saying they initially put profit before the safety of the customers, some said they were relieved. Here are some of the reactions:<doc-sep>
Comair, which operates Kulula.com and British Airways in South Africa, has stated it remains vigilant on plane safety following a fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday. Ethiopian Airlines stated there were no survivors following one of its four-month-old Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashing shortly after takeoff. 157 passengers and crew were killed when the Ethiopian Airlines flight to Kenya went down. The accident followed a two-month-old Boeing 737 Max 8, operated by Lion Air, crashing into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff in October 2018. All 189 on board were killed. Poor safety procedures and the inability of pilots to gain control of a malfunctioning aircraft may have contributed to the Lion Air crash, state initial investigation reports. Anti-stall system Concerns have been raised by aviation experts that the Boeing 737 Max 8’s “Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System” – also called the “automated anti-stall system” – was a contributor to the Lion Air crash, however. The new feature relies on equipment measuring the position of the nose of the plane, and if the plane is detected to be climbing too quickly and may stall, it points the nose down. This system is not meant to engage when the pilot is manually flying the plane, however. According to CNN, data from the Lion Air plane’s flight recorder shows that the pilots fought to override the automatic safety system, which “pulled the plane’s nose down more than two dozen times”. Kulula and BA in South Africa The Boeing 737 Max 8 has been ordered and delivered to scores of customers across the world, including Comair in South Africa. Comair, which operates Kulula.com and British Airways flights locally, has ordered eight Boeing 737 Max 8 planes – one of which was delivered in February 2019. Wrenelle Stander, Executive Director of Comair’s Airline Division, said their sympathies are with those affected by the heartbreaking Ethiopian Airlines tragedy. Stander said they cannot speculate on the causes of the accident, or the Lion Air accident in October 2018, at this time. “Comair will continue to monitor the various investigations by the relevant authorities and are in close contact with both Boeing and the SACAA. The 737 Max 8 is one of the most commonly-used aircraft in many airlines today and by November 2018, 330 737 Max 8 aircraft were in operation globally,” said Stander. “Our highly-trained and experienced flight crew and engineers remain vigilant. If we receive information that requires us to reassess the situation, please be assured we will take appropriate action in the interests of the safety of our staff and customers. Safety remains our foremost priority and we will not compromise on the safety of our crew and our customers.” Boeing has stated it is aware of the Ethiopian Airlines crash and is monitoring the situation. Grounding in China In China, authorities have taken a more strict approach and grounded Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. Local carriers have to ground the 96 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes that they operate, according to Chinese government statements. Now read: Why top ICT executives love South Africa