Civil Aviation Authority grounds Boeing 737 MAX

The Civil Aviation Authority is suspending Boeing 737 MAX jets from flying to or from New Zealand after two crashes in five months.

Only one airline, Fiji Airways, is affected and no other airlines in New Zealand fly the Boeing 737 MAX.

"The CAA has had time to thoroughly review concerns about the B737 MAX series aircraft following the tragic accidents involving the type in Indonesian and Ethiopia," director of civil aviation Graeme Harris said in a statement.

"The decision to suspend operations by the aircraft follows recent discussions with other aviation authorities, including the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which has responsibility for oversight of the design of the aircraft.

"The CAA's assessment has taken into consideration the level of uncertainty regarding the cause of the recent Ethiopian Airlines accident plus its review of the aircraft design."

Fiji Airways also announced they would ground its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8s.

"In response to the concerns expressed by the general public, both Fiji Airways and the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji have agreed that the most appropriate course is to impose this temporary grounding," the airline said in a statement.

Fiji Airways plans to use its existing Boeing 737 NG aircraft as well its Airbus A330 fleet to operate flights which were to be operated by the MAX 8s

Boeing 737 MAX jets have recently been involved in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Both crashes involved significant loss of life.

Newshub.