Africa dominates EU's airline blacklist

Paul

Veteran
Nov 15, 2005
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European regulators have today published the first European Union (EU)-wide list of carriers banned in the EU, comprising of 93 airlines facing complete bans and three more with operational restrictions - overwhelmingly from Africa.

The European Commission (EC) says the list has been compiled on the basis of EU member state contributions and after an “in-depth analysis with member state expertsâ€￾. It says that from now on the principle will apply that companies banned in one member state are banned across the EU.

Today’s formal adoption by the EC and publication comes after the Aviation Safety Committee, which has been helping the EC draw up the list, earlier this month completed its work. Member states have since January been detailing any flight bans or operating restrictions in place in their territory and the reasons why.

EC transport chief Jacques Barrot says: “The EU now has a coherent approach to banning airlines. This blacklist will keep dubious airlines out of Europe. It will also make sure that all airlines operating in Europe’s sky meet the highest safety standards.â€￾

The list predominantly comprises carriers from five countries, which are judged to have an “inadequate systemâ€￾ for regulatory oversight. As such all carriers certified by the authorities responsible for regulatory oversight in these countries are on the list of banned operators. This comprises 51 operators from the Democratic Republic of Congo; 11 from Equatorial Guinea; three in Liberia; 13 in Sierra Leone; and six from Swaziland.

Flight Global