Serbia bars Boeing 737 MAX flights from airspace

Serbia's aviation authorities barred Boeing 737 MAX planes from the country's airspace, a spokesperson told AFP Wednesday, joining a wave of government bans worldwide after a second deadly crash involving the model.

Serbia has also banned the aircraft "for take-off and landing at all airports" in the country, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Directorate said of the measure, which went into effect Tuesday.

He explained that "Serbia is aligning itself with the directives of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency", which decided on Tuesday to close European airspace to Boeing 737 MAX.

On Sunday, a new Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 went down minutes into a flight to Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board.

This followed the October crash of a Lion Air jet of the same model in Indonesia, claiming 189 lives.

Despite the aviation giant's assurances that the aircraft is safe and reliable, countries including Britain, India and China have grounded the plane or banned it from their airspace as they await the results of the investigation into the crash.