Carriers barred from EU airports on safety grounds

Effective aviation safety standards in Europe have rendered our safety record
amongst the best in the world. Whilst the European Union and its Member States
are working with safety authorities in other countries to raise safety standards
across the world, there are still some airlines operating in conditions below
essential safety levels.

To improve safety in Europe further, the European Commission – in consultation
with Member States’ aviation safety authorities – has decided to ban airlines
found to be unsafe from operating in European airspace.

These are listed in the document below. The first list includes all airlines
banned from operating in Europe. The second list includes airlines which are restricted
to operating in Europe under specific conditions.

These lists will be updated regularly and published in the Official Journal of the European Union   where they are included as annexes A and B to the Commission Regulation. Before
taking any action based on the information in these lists, all users should ensure
they have the latest version.

• List of airlines banned within the EU   [168 KB] All available translations. (updated on 26.11.2009)
• Latest press releaseAll available translations. IP/09/1831, 27/11/2009

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/list_en.htm

see also

27.11.2009   (European Voice.com)

Comoros crash carrier escapes EU blacklist

By Jennifer Rankin

EU says Yemenia Airways has responded adequately to safety recommendations since
fatal crash.

An airline whose plane crashed off the Comoros Islands in June with the loss
of more than 150 lives has escaped being put on a list of carriers barred from
EU airspace.

Aviation-safety inspectors from France, Germany, Italy and the UK told the European
Commission that Yemenia Airways has responded "in a timely manner" to recommendations
made following safety inspections conducted since one of its planes crashed into
the Indian Ocean.

The revised blacklist, which was published today by the Commission, was extended
to include all carriers from Djibouti, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome and Principe
because of safety deficiencies.

A ban on one Ukrainian airline, Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines, was lifted,
although its operations are restricted to one aircraft. The Commission also decided
that TAAG Angola Airlines should be allowed to increase the number of flights
to Portugal, after inspectors deemed progress on safety had been made.

Antonio Tajani, speaking as the European commissioner for transport, said: "Our
aim is not just to create a list of airlines that are dangerous. We are ready
to help those countries to build up their technical and administrative capacity
to guarantee the safety of civil aviation in their countries."

This was one of Tajani’s final acts in this role. Following publication of the
list, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the Commission, announced that he
wants Tajani to take over the industry portfolio in the next Commission.

Today’s update was the 12th since the EU blacklist was first published in 2006.

Today’s update means that carriers from 15 countries – 228 companies in total
– are completely banned from EU airspace. These are Angola (with one exception),
Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Indonesia,
Kazakhstan (with one exception), the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Republic of Congo,
Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Swaziland and Zambia.

http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2009/11/comoros-crash-carrier-escapes-eu-blacklist/66557.aspx