Brussels, 05/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - Nepal has now been added to the list of the 21 countries all of whose air carriers are banned from flying to or in the EU, inthe European Commission's update of its airline blacklist on Thursday 5 December. European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas said that the “the current safety situation in Nepal does not leave us any other choice”. In practice, there are currently no Nepalese airlines that fly to the EU but it could have an impact on European travellers in the country itself. The commissioner's spokeswoman, Helen Kearns, confirmed that European citizens who had already reserved tickets with Nepalese airlines would be able to get their money back and choose another airline. The commissioner also hopes that “this ban will help the aviation authorities to improve aviation safety”. The EU and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will be putting together a plan to help Nepal, offering technical support. During the next blacklist assessment in April 2014, it will be decided whether this assistance to the country means that it can be removed from the blacklist. The ban on flying to and in the EU has not yet been lifted for Libyan airlines. The list has also been updated on airlines from Kirghizstan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Mozambique, which recently opened up or closed down. (MD/transl.fl)