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European Commission Blacklist Airlines From Operating In The EU By Mike Mitchell |
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April 22, 2011 - The European Commission has adopted the
17th update of the list of airlines banned in the
European Union. Some airlines including four all-cargo
air carriers from Indonesia and one air carrier from
Ukraine have been removed from the list as safety
concerns have been satisfactorily addressed.
However, all air carriers certified in Mozambique have been banned from flying into the EU as have the operations of Air Madagascar for two specific aircraft because of significant safety deficiencies requiring decisive action in both cases. All decisions were taken with the unanimous support of the Air Safety Committee, which consists of experts from the Member States. |
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Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for
transport, said: "The Commission is ready to work together with
the authorities of those countries which have safety problems to
overcome them as quickly and as efficiently as possible. In the
meantime, safety comes first. We cannot afford any compromise in
this area. Where we have evidence inside or outside the European
Union that air carriers are not performing safe operations we
must act to exclude any risks to safety."
The Commission has adopted a unanimous opinion of the Air Safety
Committee, the 17th update of the list of airlines banned in the
EU. The new list replaces the previous one established in
November 2010. This update also removed the previous ban on the operations of four Indonesian all cargo air carriers, Cardig Air, Republic Express, Asia Link and Air Maleo. This was due to a solid enforcement action taken by the Indonesian authorities to ensure that their operations are safe. Restrictions on Ukrainian airline UMAir have also been removed after solid evidence showed its performance had improved. The authorities of Angola, Cambodia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have intensified their efforts to enforce the international safety standards. On this basis some companies that are no longer engaged in commercial air transport have been taken off the list. |
In order to ensure that there were no risks for safety from the
operations of certain air carriers, the Commission decided to impose
operating restrictions in two cases. First, it has imposed an operating
ban on all air carriers certified in Mozambique in view of the
significant deficiencies faced by the civil aviation authorities of this
country as reported by the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) in the framework of its Universal Safety Oversight Audit.
The Commission has also imposed restrictions on the two aircraft of type
Boeing 767 operated by Air Madagascar given the persisting deficiencies
in their operation and oversight. The Commission recognized the efforts
of the authorities of these countries to reform the present civil
aviation system and improve safety to guarantee that international
safety standards are effectively applied. The Commission is ready to
provide active support for these reforms in cooperation with ICAO, EU
Member States and the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Given that new airlines were established in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, they have been added to the list as all carriers from this state
are subject to operating restrictions due to insufficient capacity in
the competent authorities to discharge their safety oversight
responsibilities at that stage.
The Commission is committed to supporting better compliance with
international safety standards whenever possible and has in this
perspective mandated the European Aviation Safety Agency to carry out a
series of technical assistance missions to support the competent
authorities of a number of states, in their efforts to enhance safety
and address any safety concerns.
The updated European list includes all carriers certified in 21 states,
accounting for 269 known air carriers, whose operations are fully banned
in the European Union: Afghanistan, Angola, Benin, Republic of Congo,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
(with the exception of three carriers which operate under restrictions
and conditions), Indonesia (with the exception of six carriers),
Kazakhstan (with the exception of one carrier which operates under
restrictions and conditions), the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Mauritania,
Mozambique, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan,
Swaziland and Zambia. |
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