Norwegian Grounds 737 Max 8 Planes, Buses RI Passengers To NY

WARWICK, R.I. -- After the airline announced it would be grounding all flights on 737 MAX 8 planes, Norwegian Airlines said Wednesday it will be rescheduling all upcoming flights to Dublin from T.F. Green Airport.

All flights on the grounded planes will be operating on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners out of New York Stewart International Airport. Norwegian will be providing bus service for travelers from Rhode Island to New York.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the company apologized for any inconvenience to customers.

"Norwegian would like to apologize to customers affected by this extraordinary situation as we remain committed to ensuring our passengers can continue to travel on Norwegian’s network," the release read.

One flight to Dublin was scheduled to leave Rhode Island at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Updates on buses and rescheduled flight information will be send to affected customers through SMS, on the company's website and through customer care services.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday afternoon that the U.S. will be grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 737 Max 9 planes. The decision came just a day after the FAA announced that its review "shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft."

On Sunday, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people on board. The plane flying from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Nairobi in Kenya was a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane, the same model as the Lion Air flight that crashed in October 2018.

According to The New York Times, data recovered from the Lion Air plane found that the plane's nose was repeatedly forced down more than 12 times while the flight was in the air. The Times reported that the black box data appeared to back the theory that there was an issue with a computerized system installed on the plane.

READ MORE:

• Boeing 737 Max 8, 9 Planes To Be Grounded In U.S.: Trump
• 737 Max 8 Planes: 5 Questions About Boeing Model
• 737 Max 8 Planes: Southwest Waiving Fare Differences

Patch National Staffer Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this report.