Europe updated the EU Air Safety List

USPA NEWS - The European Commission has updated the EU Air Safety List, the list of airlines that are subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union. All airlines from the Philippines, banned since 2010, have been released from the List.

No new bans have been imposed with this update. Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport said that "after 5 years of hard work we are finally able to clear the airlines certified in the Philippines from the European Air Safety List. The Philippines is an important country with a sizeable and rapidly growing aviation sector. Today's result can serve as an example for other countries which have difficulty to match their safety oversight capabilities with the growth of their industry."

"I am also pleased to see that other countries made good progress too. The Commission is continuously monitoring developments in third countries to ensure that airlines flying into the EU are up to the highest safety standards," she added. The updated EU Air Safety List includes all airlines certified in 20 states, for a total of 231 airlines: Afghanistan, Angola (with the exception of one airline which operates under restrictions and conditions), Benin, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea and Gabon (with the exception of 2 airlines which operate under restrictions and conditions).

The List also included Indonesia (with the exception of 4 airlines), Kazakhstan (with the exception of one airline which operates under restrictions and conditions), Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Libya, Mozambique, Nepal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Zambia. The list also includes one individual airline: Blue Wing Airlines (Suriname), bringing the overall total of airlines banned from EU skies to 232.

Additionally, the List includes 8 airlines which are subject to operational restrictions. These airlines can only fly to the Union with specific aircraft types: Air Astana (Kazakhstan), Afrijet and SN2AG (Gabon), Air Koryo (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), Air Service Comores (the Comoros), Iran Air (Iran), TAAG Angolan Airlines (Angola) and Air Madagascar (Madagascar).

The air carriers certified in Ghana that were on the Air Safety List have been removed as the Commission got the necessary guarantees from Ghana that these airlines do no longer exist and that their aircrafts have been removed from active service. The EU Air Safety List is a list of airlines which are either considered not to be able to respect international aviation safety standards, or whose civil aviation authorities are deemed unable to provide the necessary safety oversight as foreseen by international aviation safety rules.

The airlines mentioned on the EU Air Safety List are either not allowed to operate to the EU, or, in a limited number of cases can only do so under very strict conditions. The EU Air Safety List also serves as a tool to warn the travelling public when travelling in other parts of the world. Aviation supports 5.1 million jobs in Europe, directly and indirectly. It provides €1 billion of European GDP every day, generating trade and tourism. With more than 800 million passengers using 450 airports, and with 150 scheduled airlines, the European Union is a key player in global aviation: a third of the world market.