Sunwing suspends Boeing 737 Max 8 flights for 'evolving commercial reasons'

Sunwing Airlines says it is "temporarily" suspending flights of its four Boeing 737 Max 8 planes.

A Max 8 was the plane involved in a deadly crash in Ethiopialast weekend that cost the lives of 157 people, including 18 Canadians.

Sunwing, which specializes in travelbetween Canada and destinations inCentral and South America, said the decision to suspend the use of the Max 8 was not related to safety and was instead about "evolving commercial reasons" such as airspace restrictions imposed by some destinations.

"The FAA has issued a statement of continued air-worthiness of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and we have confidence in the investigative process as well as the handling of this matter by Transport Canada and the other Canadian operators of the MAX 8," Sunwing said in a statement released Tuesday night.

"We appreciate the patience of our retail partners and customers while we work to communicate these updates. We will endeavor to minimize the impact of these schedule changes."

Earlier,Air Canada cancelled multiple scheduled flights to and from London after the U.K. closed its airspace to Boeing 737 Max 8s.

France, Germany, Ireland and several other countries all followed the U.K.'s lead and also closed their airspace to that specific type of aircraft Tuesday. By the afternoon, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had grounded all Boeing 737-8 MAX and 737-9 MAXairplanes andbanned all commercial flights of those models performed by third-country operatorsfrom EU airspace.

Air Canada flights cancelled

Air Canada cancelled two flights on Wednesday between Montreal andthe Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, since it is a French overseas territory and falls under EUrules.

Air Canada Flight 860 was scheduled to leave Halifax on Tuesday night, bound for London's HeathrowAirport. But early Tuesday afternoon, Air Canada changed the status of the flight on its website, showing it is now cancelled.Flight 861 from London to Halifax on Wednesday was also cancelled.

The airline also cancelled Flight 822, scheduled to leave St. John's for Heathrow on Wednesday night. Flight 823 from Heathrow to St. John's on Thursday was also cancelled.

Air Canada flight one of last Max 8s to leaveHeathrow

An Air Canada flight from Heathrow was one of the very last Max 8s to depart U.K. airspace, minutes before the ban was announced. The plane landed safely in Halifax Tuesday afternoon.

Several passengers who got off that Max 8 flight told CBC News they weren't worried about the aircraft model and had no concerns about the flight.

Howeverpassenger Tim Bunker, 32, said he found it "a little disconcerting."

"I noticed it walking through the terminal I saw the plane out there and I was like, 'Oh. This isn't good.'

In a statement, Air Canada said it was working to rebook customers on the cancelled flightsas soon as possible through its Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa hubs. It also said impacted customers could rebook their flights at no added cost.

The airline said it is confident in the safety of its operations and fleet. However, on Tuesday, it announced that customers "who for their own personal reasons" do not wish to fly on a Max 8, it would offer "flexible rebooking" to another aircraft, if available, space permitting.

The airline asked customers to be patient with call centre staff due to a high anticipated call volume and has not responded to a CBC News query as to whether or not the rebookingis free.

Grounding all planes would be 'premature'

Martyn Amos, a professor in Newcastle upon Tyne in northeast England, is due to fly with Air Canada from London to Halifax on Sunday.

He contacted the airline after the U.K. airspace ban was announced Tuesday about whether his flight will be changed.

"They were fairly vague because obviously they're scrambling around right now trying to find alternative arrangements," he told CBC News.

"They can't really give any clear indication beyond simply if your booking changes, we will send you an email."

He said that prior to the airspace ban, he was concerned about the fact he was due to flyon a Boeing 737 Max 8.

"The manufacturer has clearly acknowledged there's an issue with the aircraft and they're taking steps to remedy that," he said.

"My personal concern was that those modifications to the aircraft would not be in place prior to my flying on Sunday."

Canadian TransportMinister Marc Garneauhas said it would be "premature" to ground all 41 of those planescurrently owned by Canadian air carriers.

He reiterated Tuesdaythere are no plans to follow the example of the U.K. in suspending the jet from Canadian airspace. Shortly after that statement, he tweeted he was meeting with his civil aviation expert panel to discuss the Max 8 aircraft.

Canada's two largest airlines have also previously saidthey are confident in the safety of the aircraft:

• Air Canada said its 24 Max 8 aircraft have performed "excellently" and met safety and reliability standards.
• Calgary-based WestJet said it is "working with Boeing to ensure the continued safe operation of our Max fleet," which includes 13 Max 8s.

WestJetis scheduled to use Max 8s for its seasonalroutesfromHalifax to London Gatwick, Glasgow and Paris starting in late April. A spokesperson for WestJet told CBC News there are currently no impacts on those routes at this time.

WestJetcurrently uses Max 8s for some flights on routes from Toronto and Calgary to some sun destinations in Mexico andJamaica.The aircraft also is used on some of WestJet's routes within Canada, such as Calgary-Torontoand Vancouver-Calgary.

Air Canada's Max 8s are used forsome flights on theToronto-Vancouver, Montreal-Vancouver andMontreal-Calgary routes.

On Tuesday, Air Canada flights from Vancouver to Los Angeles, Honolulu and Puerto Vallartaused Max 8 aircraft, along with flights from Montreal toSan Francisco, Los Angeles and Martinique, and from Calgary to Palm Springs, Calif.

Sunwing's Max 8s operateon routes including Calgary to Liberia, Costa Rica.

Sunday's Ethiopian crash is the second such deadly incident for a Boeing 737 Max 8 model in less than six months. In October, a Lion Air plane crashed into the Java Sea just minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing 189 aboard.