New Delhi, March 13 -- The Civil Aviation Ministry will hold a meeting with airlines at 4 pm on Wednesday to prepare a contingency plan as a number of flights have been cancelled following the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, a senior government official said.

On Tuesday night, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced its decision to "immediately" ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that are currently being used by airline companies in India.

"We will ground all 737 Max 8 aircraft, which are currently in use by Indian airlines, by 4 pm today," a DGCA official told PTI on Wednesday morning.

The decision came days after a 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by the Ethiopian Airlines crashed near Addis Ababa killing 157 ...