The CAA has moved to suspend operations of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in UK airspace.

The move follows the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines over the weekend.

That incident followed the downing of a Lion Air plane, also a Boeing 737 MAX 8, in October last year.

There were no survivors in either incident, which both occurred in the moments after take-off.

China announced a decision to suspend operations of the aircraft type yesterday.

Officials followed suit in Australia, Singapore and the Cayman Islands.

Now the UK has joined the growing list of countries to temporarily suspend Boeing 737 MAX 8 operations.

A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the tragic incident in Ethiopia on Sunday.

“The UK Civil Aviation Authority has been closely monitoring the situation, however, as we do not currently have sufficient information from the flight data recorder we have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace.

“The UK Civil Aviation Authority’s safety directive will be in place until further notice.

“We remain in close contact with the European Aviation Safety Agency and industry regulators globally.”

There are currently five 737 MAX 8 aircraft registered and operational in the United Kingdom.

A sixth is planned to commence operations later this week.

The US Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for certifying all Boeing 737 MAX models and it is the European Aviation Safety Agency that validates this certification across the EU, including the UK.

Tui Airways and Norwegian both operate the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in the UK as part of their fleets.

A statement from Tui confirmed their 737 MAX 8 aircraft were grounded following the CAA decision.

“Any customers due to fly home today on a 737 MAX 8 from their holiday will be flown back on another aircraft.

“Customers due to travel in the coming days will also travel on holiday as planned on other aircraft,” explained Tui.