Ethiopian Airlines flew its Boeing 737 MAX on Tuesday, nearly three years after a tragic crash in 2019 which killed all 157 people on board.

The airline issued a statement which read: “Ethiopian Airlines has returned its Boeing 737 MAX back to the skies today with the airline’s board chairman and executives, Boeing executives, ministers, ambassadors, government officials, journalists and customers onboard the first flight.”

Tewolde Gebremariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines added: “Safety is the top most priority at Ethiopian Airlines and it guides every decision we make and all actions we take,”

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after departing Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on March 10, 2019. The incident prompted the carrier, along with many other airlines worldwide, to ground Boeing 737 MAX jets.

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