Ethiopia has allowed Boeing 737 Max airplanes back to its airspace, the aviation regulator has said, three years after one of its national carrier jets crashed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa.

All 149 passengers and eight crew members aboard the Ethiopian Airlines flight from the Ethiopian capital to Nairobi in Kenya died.

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) said it lifted the ban after being satisfied with improvements in the planes’ design and the airlines’ pilot training programme.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared the planes to resume flights in November 2020, but ordered mandatory pilot training and modification of flight computer.