San Francisco Airport passengers react to US grounding of Boeing 737-MAX airliners

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ByVic Lee KGO logo
Thursday, March 14, 2019
SFO passengers react to grounding of Boeing 737-MAX
While some aviation experts say there's no real reason for it, most passengers flying out of SFO agree with the decision to temporarily ground Boeing 737-MAX's.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- While some aviation experts say there's no real reason for it, most passengers flying out of San Francisco International Airport agree with the decision to temporarily ground Boeing 737-MAX airliners.

Most travelers at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday seemed to be aware of the President's order. Some said they had already decided against flying on the Boeing 737 max 8 jetliners even before the President's announcement.

RELATED: Aviation analyst not worried about flying on 737 Max 8 in U.S.

"I wouldn't fly them just because I wouldn't want to take the chance," said one passenger flying to Minnesota.

The President's decision comes after the FAA for days resisted grounding the planes. This even after the fatal crash in Ethiopia and the one in October, killing 189 passengers and crew.

The FAA said Wednesday they had received what it called "newly refined satellite data" to support the President's decision. But ABC News Aviation Consultant John Nance believes the order was premature.

"Nothing has emerged from this accident that has given justification for saying there's a major systems problem."

Nance says the US has an excellent record for aviation safety and that the President's decision to ground the Boeing Max series models was "over the top."

RELATED: 3 killed in Ethiopia plane crash have Bay Area ties

"This should be something that only the FAA in conjunction with the airlines decides with the manufacturer and not something decided by the executive in the White House."

But airline passengers at SFO tended to agree that the Max 8's should be grounded, at least for the time being.

United, Southwest and American all have the Boeing Max series in their fleets. The three airlines issued statements saying they'll comply immediately with the President's order.

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