Indian Railways offers ‘Max’ comfort? Following the tragic mishap of Ethiopian Airlines’ 737 Max 8, all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, which were being operated by airlines in India have been grounded. With this move, several flights across the country have been cancelled, making it difficult for passengers to travel. The decision came at a time when several people across India travel to celebrate the upcoming festival of Holi with their family and friends.
Highlighting an alternate option for travellers, Piyush Goyal led-Railway Ministry has advised people to use Indian Railways trains for hassle-free travel. A recent tweet by the Railway Ministry stated that while all the Max aircraft are grounded, passengers can take trains for maximum comfort, maximum safety and maximum value for money. Additionally, the ministry also mentioned that Indian Railways is the greenest way to travel.
The decision to ground all Max aircraft has been taken by the DGCA due to the crash of Ethiopian Airlines’ 737 Max 8 plane near Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. The tragic incident took lives of all the 157 people, including 4 Indians who were onboard on Sunday.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Chief, BS Bhullar was recently quoted in a PTI report saying that lifting the ban on the Max aircraft will be based on inputs from various agencies. However, he further added that it will not happen anytime soon. The budget carrier, SpiceJet has as many as 12 such aircraft in its fleet. On the other hand, Jet Airways has 5 such aircraft. All these aircraft have already been grounded. While, most of the countries across the world, including the European Union have decided to ban the use of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, the United States bowed to world pressure and grounded its fleet of Max aircraft only recently.