The European Commission has revised its list of airlines that are banned from operating in the European Union (EU) because of their lack of compliance with international safety standards.
The commission’s action, taken Nov. 28, removed from the list seven Angolan air carriers that no longer hold valid air operator certificates from the Angolan civil aviation authority. Two new air carriers registered in Angola were included on the list.
“Our objective is to offer the highest level of safety in European skies,” said EU Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc. “The EU’s Air Safety List remains one of our most effective tools to achieve this.”
The EU says the list is intended to maintain high levels of safety in the EU and to help the airlines and countries that are named on the list to improve their safety levels “in order for them to eventually be taken off the list.” The list also serves as a preventive tool, motivating countries with aviation safety problems to correct them before they are included among the banned airlines.
The Nov. 28 revision named 115 airlines that are banned from operating in the EU, including 109 airlines certified in 15 countries: Afghanistan, Angola (except for one airline that operates under restrictions), Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon (except for two airlines that operate under restrictions), the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Libya, Nepal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone and Sudan. These airlines are banned because of a lack of safety oversight by their national aviation authorities.
Six additional airlines operate under restrictions and may fly into the EU only with specific aircraft types: Afrijet and Nouvelle Air Affaires SN2AG (Gabon), Air Koryo (North Korea), Air Service Comores (the Comoros), Iran Air and TAAG Angola Airlines.