UAE bans all Boeing 737 MAX planes from airspace

All Boeing 737 MAX model planes have been banned from the UAE's airspace until further notice.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) says the move is a precautionary measure aimed at protecting public safety in the air and on the ground.

On Sunday, a Boeing 737 MAX-8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines came down minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.

The GCAA says it'll continue monitoring and re-assessing the situation as more information is obtained about the accident.

It was the second incident involving the new aircraft in a matter of months after a Lion Air plane crashed in Indonesia in October.

The move comes after the European Union also announced it was grounding Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 jets.

So far, 33 countries have made the same move, along with 30 airlines including FlyDubai, whose fleet of 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 2 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft have been grounded. 

However, the USA and Canada are still allowing the plane to operate pending investigations from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).