The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has issued a temporary suspension of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into and out of Irish airspace.

The authority said the decision had been based on “ensuring the continued safety of passengers and flight crew, which is the IAA’s number one priority”.

The temporary suspension took effect from 3pm today.

Following the two fatal accidents involving the planes in recent months in Ethiopia and Indonesia, the IAA said that flights would not be permitted to operate in Irish airspace as a precautionary measure.

It said in a statement: “The IAA has been closely monitoring the situation, however, as we do not currently have sufficient information from the flight data recorder we have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights on Boeing 737 MAX from any operator arriving, departing or overflying Irish airspace.”

The announcement follows a ban by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority today on commercial passenger flights by Boeing 737 Max aircraft from “arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace”.