Passengers at Vancouver International Airport who disembarked from one of the last Boeing 737 Max 8 flights before a ban on the jet came into force Wednesday morning were thankful to have arrived safely. "Wow. Had I known [what aircraft it was], I probably wouldn't have flown," said Nabil Valiulla, one of the passengers from the Toronto flight. "I just found about it, just as I got out," said another, Nelson Belchiur. "I did not need to know that ... I would have preferred not having been on it, to be honest." Wednesday morning, Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced the federal government had grounded the aircraft and banned it from Canadian airspace following Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board, including 18 Canadians. Nabil Valiulla was on one of the last Boeing 737 Max 8 flights before the aircraft was grounded by the Canadian government. (CBC) The U.K., the European Union, Australia and many other countries had already banned the jet due to safety concerns. The U.S. also announced a ban Wednesday afternoon. The ban was welcome for some customers, like incoming Toronto passenger Paul Hay. "Thank God they made a decision rather than a consumer having to figure that out," Hay said. "My condolences to everyone who was lost [in the Ethiopian Airlines crash]." Cancellations, delays Vancouver International Airport asked passengers to check the status of their flight directly with their airline before coming to the airport. Some flights have been cancelled — and the timing isn't great either as it's spring break holidays for many students and families. Tori Short, who was headed to Maui early Wednesday with her family of five, had her flight cancelled. But she said she was glad for the ban. "You know what, I was hoping Canada would follow suit with the other countries," Short said. "We just feel better that they're … making the safe decision." An Air Canada Boeing 737 Max 8. Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced a ban on the aircraft from Canadian airspace following Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people, including 18 Canadians. (Mike Hillman/CBC) Air Canada and West Jet have announced they are working to rebook affected passengers as quickly as possible, but customers can expect delays. Sunwing, which voluntarily suspended its 737 Max flights Tuesday, said it would "endeavour to minimize the impact of these schedule changes." There are 41 such aircraft in total owned by Canadian air carriers. Air Canada, which has 24 of them in its fleet, said its 737 Max operations carry 9,000 to 12,000 customers per day.<doc-sep>The federal government has issued a 'safety notice' meaning Boeing 737 Max 8s can't fly into, out of, or over Canada OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Both Canada and the U.S. have now moved to ban the use of Boeing 737 Max 8s and 9s. Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced Wednesday morning that a safety notice has been issued, meaning the new type of aircraft would be banned from flying in or above Canada. A Boeing 737 Max 8 plane was involved in the deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday that left 157 people dead, including 18 Canadians. Transport Minister @MarcGarneau announcing Canada has decided to ban domestic use of Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane. The safety notice will remain in effect until further notice @NEWS1130 — Simon Druker (@Simon_Druker) March 13, 2019 Garneau says the decision was made after new information about Sunday’s crash was received Wednesday morning. He cites some evidence suggests a worrying correlation between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and one in Indonesia just this past October. “The new information, and I hasten to say this is new information that we received and analyzed this morning, comes from validated satellite tracking data suggesting a possible, although unproven, similarity in the flight profile of the Lion Air aircraft,” the minister said. “I caution that this new information is not conclusive, and that we must await further evidence, hopefully, from the voice and data recorders.” Garneau adds it’s still too soon to speculate about the exact cause of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. The safety notice takes effect immediately, and will remain in effect until further notice. Garneau says any flight currently in the air on its way to Canada will be allowed to land. BC’s premier says the feds have done the right thing in halting flights in the wake of the deadly crash over the weekend. “It’s one that took the life of a public servant here. Micah Messent, a young man who was doing the business of the people of B.C., on his way to a conference and tragically lost his life in the crash,” John Horgan said. Horgan says as hearts go out to Messent’s family it’s right to save other families the same anguish. He adds despite any inconvenience it may cause, grounding the aircraft is the right decision. “That’s going to have an impact on the travelling public. But these are federal decisions and it will obviously have an impact. But [is necessary] until we find out whether or not there are significant challenges with that aircraft.” The government’s announcement comes just a day after Garneau had said he saw no reason to prohibit flying the planes in Canada, although he did note that “all options are on the table.” The U.S. government followed suit, three hours after Ottawa’s announcement on Wednesday. “I didn’t want to take any chances. We didn’t have to make this decision today. We could have delayed it — we maybe didn’t have to make it at all. But I felt it was important, both psychologically and in a lot of other ways,” said U.S. President Donald Trump. Sunwing Airlines was the first Canadian carrier to temporarily ground its fleet of 737 Max aircraft, following Sunday’s crash, joining a growing number of other carriers worldwide who had also stopped using the type of plane. On Tuesday, the European Aviation Safety Agency moved to keep the aircraft out of the air over all of Europe. Minister Garneau asked if airlines gave him any pushback over grounding the Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9. He says when he informed the air lines this morning they did not object, they understand this is a safety issue. #cdnpoli — Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) March 13, 2019 Garneau says there have been no complaints raised by pilots operating Canadian planes about the Boeing 737 Max aircraft. However, multiple media reports have suggested several complaints have been made by pilots in the U.S. The decision to ground the plane is being described by the federal government as a precautionary move. Boeing has recommended the grounding of its entire fleet of 371 737 Max aircraft worldwide. In Consultation with the FAA, NTSB and its Customers, Boeing Supports Action to Temporarily Ground 737 MAX Operations: https://t.co/Z6gIInNYHL pic.twitter.com/cBHzvsdVw7 — The Boeing Company (@Boeing) March 13, 2019 Passengers and the grounding Passenger-rights advocate Gabor Lukacs said Wednesday that it would be prudent for Garneau to suspend use of the aircraft until questions are answered about what caused the Ethiopian crash. “Generally, one should always be erring on the side of caution when it comes to safety questions,” he said from Halifax. “If there is enough evidence of a potential harm, and in this case I think there is evidence of potential harm, then the prudent thing is to ground those aircraft.” Minister Garneau says there will be travel disruptions as a result. Adds it is unfortunate but "we must put safety at the top of our agenda" #cdnpoli — Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) March 13, 2019 Air Canada says it has a ‘flexible rebooking policy’ Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur says in a statement the airline has a “flexible rebooking policy” that includes options to change flights to another aircraft if space permits. “Based on real information and data, and ongoing consultations with government safety regulators including Transport Canada and the FAA, we have full confidence in the safety of our fleet and operations and we continue to operate the 737,” she said. In a statement, Air Canada said its “cancellation and rebooking policies are in place with full fee waiver for affected customers.” “We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible but given the magnitude of our 737 MAX operations which on average carry nine to 12,000 customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada call centres and we appreciate our customers’ patience,” the airline said. Air Canada added it supports the decision. WestJet working to re-book affected customers WestJet says it respects the decision made by Transport Canada.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Canada is joining the growing number of countries that have grounded Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 jets after a deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash over the weekend. Hours later, the United States announced it will do the same. That crash marked the second catastrophic incident in six months that involved the model of airplane, prompting a wave of countries to ground their fleets, including the U.K., China, Australia, Singapore, India, South Korea, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and others. READ MORE: Boeing 737 MAX 8 bans — What Canadian travellers should know The European Union also banned the jets from flying in European airspace. Transport Minister Marc Garneau had maintained earlier this week that Canada would not ground the jets because the cause of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed 157 people, including 18 Canadians, is not yet clear. Story continues below advertisement He reversed that position on Wednesday. WATCH: Garneau explains exactly what ‘safety notice’ will entail for flyers 1:39 Garneau explains exactly what ‘safety notice’ will entail for flyers Garneau explains exactly what ‘safety notice’ will entail for flyers – Mar 13, 2019 Garneau told reporters in Ottawa that there have been no reports from pilots flying for Canadian airlines of encountering difficulty with the 737 MAX 8’s anti-stall system, which has come under heavy scrutiny after a preliminary report into a deadly MAX 8 crash in Indonesia last year showed the pilots had repeatedly fought the plane’s anti-stall system before crashing. But he added that the decision to issue a safety notice banning the aircraft from taking off, landing or flying over Canadian airspace comes as a result of “new data” received by Canadian officials Wednesday morning that appears to show similarities between that crash and the one over the weekend. “There can’t be any MAX 8 or MAX 9 flying into, out of or across Canada so that obviously affects the Canadian MAX 8s that are owned by Air Canada, West Jet and Sunwing, that own aircraft but also have implications on airlines outside the country,” Garneau said. Story continues below advertisement LISTEN BELOW: Bruce Can, president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada speaks with Ryan Jespersen on 630 CHED Garneau said the new data was obtained via satellite monitoring Wednesday morning and shows similarities between the Ethiopian Airlines crash over the weekend and the Lion Air crash in October 2018, which killed 189 people. Those similarities “exceed a certain threshold in our minds,” Garneau said, adding that the decision to ground the fleets comes as a direct result of that information. WATCH: Global fears grow over Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 planes 2:10 Global fears grow over Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 planes Global fears grow over Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 planes – Mar 12, 2019 Canadian officials informed their American counterparts of the decision earlier Wednesday morning. Story continues below advertisement Several hours later, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will do the same. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the certifying body for the aircraft in question and had doubled down in recent days over its decision not to ground the MAX 8s even as a growing number of countries raised concerns. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the CEO of Boeing, Dennis A. Muilenburg, spoke directly with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday to make a personal appeal not to ground the aircraft. When asked earlier Wednesday whether political pressure could factor into the FAA’s investigation, Garneau said he is comfortable with the FAA being the certifying authority for the planes and praised the agency as “professional.” Reuters reports a spokesperson for Ethiopian Airlines said the black box from the crash is being sent to Europe for analysis. WATCH: Garneau questioned on reliability of FAA on aircraft certification 1:47 Garneau questioned on reliability of FAA on aircraft certification Garneau questioned on reliability of FAA on aircraft certification – Mar 13, 2019 While the safety notice grounding the aircraft goes into effect immediately, all flights currently in the air will be allowed to complete their trips and will not be forced to make emergency landings. Story continues below advertisement Garneau said the grounding order will remain in place until investigators identify “the smoking gun” behind the Ethiopian Airlines crash. While there will be “some disruption” as a result of the decision, the minister noted that Canadian airlines operating the aircraft have not pushed back. Air Canada has 24 of the MAX 8 aircraft while WestJet flies 13 and Sunwing has four. “They recognize the importance of safety,” he said. “For the moment, caution has to dominate.” READ MORE: Lawsuits allege pilots in Lion Air crash were kept in dark about 737 MAX 8 flight control system At issue are concerns being raised about the aircraft’s Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). That system was introduced in 2017 and automatically lowers the nose of a plane if external sensors indicate it is at risk of a stall. Stalling happens when there is not enough wind speed over the wing of an aircraft. READ MORE: How the Boeing 737 MAX 8 involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash is different from older 737s Tilting the nose of the plane down is how pilots overcome a stall because it forces the plane into a brief dip and increases the speed of wind over the wings. Story continues below advertisement But the MCAS system effectively automates that response — and that can take even experienced pilots used to flying older models by surprise. Boeing is now facing lawsuits from the families of victims in the Lion Air crash who allege the company did not properly warn pilots of the MCAS system and that its operations manual did not properly explain the system — or how to work around it — to pilots. A preliminary report into the cause of the Lion Air crash showed that the system pulled the plane’s nose down more than 24 times as pilots fought to regain control.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Canada said on Friday it was suspending its 2019 financial forecasts as a consequence of the grounding of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX planes, becoming the first major airline to publicly attach dollars and cents to the uncertainty surrounding the new jets. Countries around the world, including the United States and Canada, banned Boeing’s fast-selling 737 MAX this week after a fatal Ethiopian Airlines plane crash on Sunday, the second deadly disaster for the aircraft in five months. READ MORE: Boeing 737 MAX software update expected within weeks amid aircraft ban Shares of Air Canada were 1.6 percent lower in early trade on Friday. Airlines bought the 737 MAX for its longer range and fuel efficiency, and some carriers’ business plans are facing disruption because of the grounding, which U.S. lawmakers have said could last for weeks at a minimum. Story continues below advertisement The causes of Sunday’s crash are still unknown. WATCH: Black boxes from Ethiopian airliner arrive in Paris 3:32 Black boxes from Ethiopian airliner arrive in Paris Black boxes from Ethiopian airliner arrive in Paris – Mar 14, 2019 Boeing suspended deliveries of its 737 MAX aircraft on Thursday but continues to produce its single-aisle jets at full speed. Air Canada, the country’s largest carrier, has been renewing its narrowbody fleet with MAX aircraft to replace its existing Airbus A320 narrowbodies. It had expected to expand its fleet of 24 MAX jets to 36 by the end of 2019. Montreal-based Air Canada has said it operated seventy-five 737 MAX flights daily out of a total schedule of approximately 1,600 flights system-wide. Story continues below advertisement Air Canada would face the costs of re-booking passengers after the planes were grounded, and other costs from not having scheduled access to the more efficient MAX, said AltaCorp analyst Chris Murray. The airline estimated that savings on fuel and maintenance costs would make the MAX 8 aircraft 11 percent cheaper to operate per available seat mile (CASM) than its existing Airbus A320s. CASM is a closely watched industry metric. READ MORE: How the Boeing 737 MAX 8 involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash is different from older 737s Murray said he expected Air Canada to find a way to “mitigate” the impact of higher costs, and noted the company’s forecast for annual profit margin remained in place for 2020 and 2021, suggesting this would be “a short term disruption.” The grounding of planes has left U.S. and Canadian carriers wrestling with customer calls and flight cancellations. [ Southwest Airlines, the world’s largest MAX operator with 34 jets, and American Airlines with 24 MAX in its fleet, both declined to comment on Friday. United Airlines , with 14 MAX and Canada‘s WestJet Airlines, which operates 13 of the jets, could not be immediately reached for comment.<doc-sep>
Canada is grounding all of its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and banning the jet from entering its airspace until further notice as safety concerns continue to mount following two deadly crashes. "This safety notice restricts commercial passenger flights from any air operator, both domestic and foreign, of the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft from arriving, departing, or overflying Canadian airspace," Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters earlier today. (The Max 9 has an extended fuselage, but uses the same systems as the Max 8s). Canada had been one of the last holdouts on temporarily banning the Max 8s in the wake of the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board, including 18 Canadians. The U.K., the European Union, Australia and other countries had moved already to ban the jet from their airspace in response to growing safety concerns. Garneau said the decision to issue the safety notice was made after his department received new data suggesting a similarity between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another deadly crash near Indonesia in October. The minister said much of the new information is new and unproven, but added: "There are — and I hasten to say not conclusive — but there are similarities that sort of exceed a certain threshold in our minds with respect to the possible cause of what happened in Ethiopia" "My departmental officials continue to monitor the situation and I will not hesitate to take swift action should we discover any additional safety issues," he said. U.S. follows suit U.S. President Donald Trump issued an "emergency order" grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 a few hours after Canada's decision. Garneau said Canada alerted the U.S. to the safety notice on Wednesday morning. According to Reuters, the Federal Aviation Administration held urgent meetings on the issue after Canada announced it would become the latest major country to ground the jets. According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, Garneau directly contacted his counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. The source said the Americans understood Garneau's decision and did not try to persuade Ottawa to change its mind. "It was always a possibility, but the fact that they announced it just after us came as a bit of a surprise," said Garneau. 'It crossed a threshold in our mind' | Marc Garneau Power and Politics 9:09 Transport Minister Marc Garneau discusses the decision to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft, after Canada had been one of the last holdouts. 9:09 Air Canada, which already had cancelled multiple scheduled flights to and from London in response to the U.K. closing its airspace yesterday, said it's working to rebook passengers. "Air Canada's cancellation and rebooking policies are in place with full fee waiver for affected customers," said a spokesperson. "We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible, but given the magnitude of our 737 MAX operations, which on average carry nine to twelve thousand customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada call centres." WestJet also said it will begin complying with Transport Canada's direction. "We respect the decision made by Transport Canada and are in the process of grounding the 13 MAX aircraft in our fleet," said the company in an email. "This decision has an impact on the travel plans of our WestJet guests and we ask for understanding as we work to rebook all guests affected as quickly as possible." An Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is towed in on Wednesday behind another Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. (Chris Helgren/Reuters) Toronto-based Sunwing Airlines announced late Tuesday it would voluntarily ground its four Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft for "evolving commercial reasons," such as airspace restrictions imposed by some destinations. The union representing Air Canada's 8,500 flight attendants welcomed the decision. "In light of the new data received by the federal government, we welcome the Minister's decision to err on the side of prudence until the analysis of the causes of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash is completed," said CUPE spokesperson Wesley Lesosky. Garneau illustrates similarities of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes CBC News 1:23 Transport Minister Marc Garneau illustrates the similarities between the Lion Air flight crash from October 2018 to this past weekend's Ethiopian Airlines plane crash out of Addis Ababa.