The decision of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to suspend all flight operations of all Boeing Model 737-8 MAX and 737-9 MAX aeroplanes in Europe as of 19:00 UTC has an impact on four TUI fly Belgium/Netherlands Boeing 737 MAX’s.
OO-TMA, operating flight TB3052 from Hurghada to Brussels was forced to divert to Bologna, Italy and OO-MAX, operating flight TB2052 from the Island of Sal to Brussels diverted to Alicante, Spain. TUI spokesman Piet Demeyere confirmed to Aviation24.be that the stranded passengers will be brought back to Brussels tomorrow.
A TUI fly Netherlands 737 MAX (PH-TFO) from Hurghada to Amsterdam as OR942 diverted to Sofia, Bulgaria and a company aircraft (PH-TFN) between Banjul and Amsterdam as OR458 diverted to Gran Canaria (Las Palmas).
A few 737 MAX aircraft are still flying without a problem:
- flydubai (A6-MAX) between Dubai and Kiev
- Norwegian Air (LN-BKF) between Funchal and currently flying over Belgium at 40,000 ft
- Smartwings (OK-SWC) between Reykjavik and Gran Canaria
- Smartwings (OK-SWD) between Tenerife and Tel Aviv
