Minister of Transport and Communications Brian Mushimba says Zambia has not ordered any Boeing 737 Max 8 planes as it relaunches Zambian Airways.
Boeing Company has grounded its entire global fleet of 737 Max aircraft after investigators uncovered new evidence at the scene of the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash.
The US plane-maker says it will suspend all 371 of the aircraft.
The US’s Federal Aviation Administration has said fresh evidence as well as newly refined satellite data prompted the decision to temporarily ban the jets.
But Engineer Mushimba has told Money FM News that Zambia has no plans to purchase this model of the plane as the country relaunches its national airline this year.
Eng. Mushimba said Zambia is paying attention to the happenings in the aviation industry after the two accidents involving this model of the plane.
“Boeing has issued a statement to ensure that 737 Max planes are not allowed to fly as they investigate what was changed in the software upgrade. We have seen that airlines that fly these planes are alarmed and investigations are still ongoing. But Zambia has not purchased 737 Max planes,” he said.
“The issue of Boeing MAX 8 planes is receiving the right attention from all parties. We support grounding these planes until the problem with the software is addressed. We are glad they have been grounded. Air travel is the safest mode of transport and should be kept that way.”