Russia suspends flights of Boeing 737 MAX

Russia has decided to suspend Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in its airspace until further notice following two deadly plane crashes in the past five months, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said Thursday.

The agency will assess directives and reports from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing, head of the agency Alexander Neradko told reporters.

The decisions came amid rising global concern over the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes after two fatal crashes in five months.

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane of Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday, killing all 157 on board.

Another jet of the same model, flown by Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air, crashed in October last year, killing all 189 passengers on board.

The FAA said in a statement on Wednesday that it had ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory.