"FlyDubai is monitoring the situation and continues to be in touch with Boeing. We are still confident in the suitability of our fleet for flights. The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority", the spokesperson stated.
The airline currently owns 14 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, including the infamous MAX 8 models, and has 237 more similar jets ordered, data from the US aircraft manufacturer from January showed. FlyDubai was one of the first companies to order the planes in July 2017, two months after they officially entered service.
According to the airline's spokesperson, the introduction of new models into the FlyDubai fleet is regulated by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and has been approved by the "relevant regulatory authorities".
"So the aviation sector is strictly regulated, and FlyDubai fully observes all the rules", he concluded.
The FAA originally certified the 737 MAX in 2017.
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This latest catastrophe is the second fatal incident involving the narrow-body aircraft in less than five months. In late October 2018, another Boeing 737 MAX 8, operated by Indonesia's Lion Air, plunged into the Java Sea shortly after take-off, claiming the lives of 189 people. According to the preliminary investigation, the plane's sensors had shown incorrect speed and altitude readings.
