Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman at Iran Civil Aviation Organization (CAO), told Mehr News Agency on Friday that CAO has issued A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to ban the US planemaker Boeing Co’s 737 MAX aircraft from entering or transiting its airspace.
According to the official, the notice had been issued before Boeing Company and the US government grounded the entire global fleet of 737 Max aircraft.
A growing number of countries have now grounded or banned takeoffs, overflights, and landings of Boeing 737 MAX planes after a 737 MAX crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday killing 157 people.
Another disaster involving a 737 MAX in Indonesia five months ago killed 189 people.
This is the exact model (737 MAX 8) that had to have an emergency landing in an airport in Iran last December due to engine problems. Engineers managed to repair the jet after ten weeks.
MR/4568444