KIGALI, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's civil aviation authority on Friday said it has banned Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from operating over its airspace.
This came after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi, Kenya, crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board.
It was the second deadly crash for a Boeing 737 MAX 8 model in less than five months. The first one occurred in October last year when an aircraft of the same model operated by Indonesia's Lion Air plunged into the waters off western Indonesia minutes after taking off, killing 189 people.
"The Rwanda civil aviation authority in exercise of its powers under article 16 of the Rwanda aviation law directs pilots and aircraft operators of any Boeing 737 Max 8 and Boeing 737 Max 9 not conduct any flights in the airspace of Rwanda with immediate effect," the authority said in a statement.
The ban remains in effect until further notice, it said.
