- RAM had planned to receive the two 737 MAX aircraft in June, the source said
- The US planemaker’s top-selling jet was grounded worldwide in March after two fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia
RABAT: Morocco’s national carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has suspended a deal to purchase two more Boeing 737 MAX jets after the same model of aircraft crashed in Ethiopia, a source from the airline told Reuters on Thursday.
RAM had planned to receive the two 737 MAX aircraft in June, the source said, adding that two other 737 Max planes in its fleet had been grounded pending the findings of an investigation into the Ethiopian crash in March.
Boeing did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The US planemaker’s top-selling jet was grounded worldwide in March after two fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed 346 people within five months.
Separately, the source said that RAM’s fleet of 737 NG is not concerned by inspections that have taken place elsewhere in the world, saying the checks routinely take place on older jets or after a set number of flights.
RAM operates 36 Boeing 737 NG planes and only one has required such an inspection and no problems were found.
Southwest Airlines Co. and Brazil’s Gol Linhas Aereas have grounded a total of 13 Boeing 737 NG airplanes after US regulators ordered urgent inspections last week.