TBILISI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Georgian Civil Aviation Agency (GCAA) announced Wednesday that it has temporarily prohibited all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 operations in Georgian airspace, in order to ensure the safety of passengers and aircraft operations.

"GCAA is closely following the directives of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Boeing MAX jets' flights will be temporarily suspended in Georgian airspace until the international aviation organisations receive further information about the reasons that caused the crash in Ethiopia," said the GCAA in a statement.

GCAA added that the air traffic would not be significantly affected by this temporary suspension as Georgia does not have any Boeing 737 Max on its Civil Aircraft Register.

A growing number of countries have grounded Boeing 737 Max jets after the crash on Sunday of a Boeing 737 Max 8 near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board.