On Tuesday 16 May, the European Commission updated its black list of airlines and removed the certified airline companies in Benin and Mozambique from this list.
These two airlines will therefore no longer be subject to a ban or flight restrictions in European Union territory due to the progress they have made on airline safety.
In her comments regarding this decision, Transport Commissioner, Violeta Bulc, asserted that this withdrawal from the list was because, “the reforms had paid off”. She added that, “This is also a signal to the 16 countries that remain on the list. It shows that work and cooperation pays off. The Commission and the European Aviation Safety Agency are ready to assist them and raise the safety standards worldwide".
In addition to the withdrawal of the Mozambique and Benin airlines, the Commission has also added the following airlines to the blacklist on the basis of EASA observations: Med-View (Nigeria), Mustique Airways (Saint-Vincent and theGrenadines), Aviation Company Urga (Ukraine) and Air Zimbabwe(Zimbabwe).
Following this update, 181 airlines are now subject to a flight ban in the EU. These include 174 airlines certified in 16 countries due to a lack of safety supervision by the aviation authorities in the countries in question. This ban also includes seven operators due to concerns regarding safety about these companies themselves. Six other airline companies are subject to restrictions, which means that they can fly to the EU on the condition that they only use certain specific aircraft.
For further information: http://bit.ly/2gFkqM4 (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)