China Eastern Airlines suspends Boeing 737-800 flights

Figures from British aviation consulting firm IBA show that China Eastern Airlines currently has 225 Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Meanwhile, according to information from Chinese aviation data provider Flight Master, as of March 22, other Chinese airlines have not canceled any flights using 737-800 aircraft. This is considered a safer aircraft and is the predecessor of the Boeing 737 MAX. The 737 MAX has been grounded worldwide after two catastrophic crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed a total of 346 people.

Previously, on March 21, Boeing 737 aircraft number 5735 of China Eastern Airlines, departed from Kunming city (capital of Yunnan province) to Guangzhou city (capital of Guangdong province). lost contact while flying over Wuzhou city in Guangxi province. At the time of the accident, there were 132 people on board, including 123 passengers and 9 crew members. According to the Guangxi emergency management agency, the downed plane caused a big fire in the mountains. China Central Television (CCTV) reported that rescuers could not find any survivors. After the crash, shares of China Eastern Airlines in mainland China fell 6.5% on March 22, while in Hong Kong (China) fell nearly 6%.

Boeing’s representative office in China said the US plane maker is cooperating with China Eastern Airlines and will assist in the investigation of the accident. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has also appointed a senior aviation safety investigator to be the US representative to investigate the Boeing 737 crash. could act as a representative to investigate the crash of a plane made in the country.