SEOUL, March 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's transport ministry said on Friday that it has banned the entry of Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9 in the country's airspace for three months over growing concern about the planes' safety.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) Thursday to notify pilots and airlines of its decision to prohibit the Boeing aircrafts from landing and taking off in local airports and entering the country's airspace for the next three months.
It came amid rising global concern over the safety of the Boeing planes after two fatal crashes in five months.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane of Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board.
Another jet of the same model, flown by Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air, crashed in October last year, killing all 189 on board.
A low-cost carrier Eastar Jet, the only South Korean air carrier that owns Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes, decided on Tuesday to ground its two MAX 8 jets to alleviate public concern about the plane's safety.
The country's biggest air carrier Korean Air and another budget carrier T'way Air, which are set to introduce MAX 8 jets later this year, decided not to fly the planes until safety is secured.
