US President Donald Trump has announced that the US will ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes with immediate effect.

“All of those planes are grounded, effective immediately,” Trump said, referring to the Boeing 737 Max variations, during a press event on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The safety of the American people, of all people is our paramount concern,” Trump said.

The United States becomes the last major nation to ban the fleet following the deadly Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crash, which killed all 157 people on board on Sunday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement shortly after Trump’s remarks it is ordering the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by US airlines or in US territory.

The move came hours after Canada announced it is pulling Boeing 737 Max aircraft from the sky, indicating that the US is bowing to the mounting pressure from the international community to ground the aircraft.

US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier on Tuesday said it saw “no basis” to ground Boeing 737 Max planes, despite two recent similar crashes involving aircraft in the series.

“Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft. Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action,” the statement said.

Read | US says ‘no basis’ to ground Boeing 737 Max planes amid rising concerns over two recent crashes

The statement came amid mounting safety concerns following two crashes involving Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in a short span of five months.

In October last year, an aircraft operated by Lion Air crashed killing over 180 people in Indonesia.

The European Union and many countries across the world have already banned the use of 737 Max 8 aircraft in their respective airspace.

India on Tuesday grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft used by the country’s airline companies in light of the Ethiopian Airlines.

On Monday, China, too, grounded all of its Boeing 737 Max 8 jets. Australia too followed the suit on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Transport of Indonesia, the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia and Ethiopian Airlines also joined the suspension, as did Cayman Airlines.

US lawmakers, experts and industry associations too had called for its grounding in the US.

According to the FAA, currently 74 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes are operated by the American carriers.

(With agency inputs)