Brussels, 16/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - By 16 February at the latest, Member States were to provide the European Commission with the list of airlines banned from operating on their territory. In line with Regulation 2111/2005, which provides for the establishment of a Community list on the matter, the Commission now has one month in which to verify the Member State information on the basis of common criteria and to prepare its consolidated list of airlines that are banned from operation in the Community. This list will then be submitted for approval by a committee of national experts that will give a majority decision. The list could be published in March or April.
In a press release, France suggests placing on this first joint list the three companies already on the French list of airlines banned from operation on French territory: Phuket Airlines (Thailand), International Air Services (Liberia) and Air Koryo (North Korea). To these three companies must be added Air Comores Services which has been under surveillance since mid-November, leading to the suspension of its flights in France. The Thai airline Phuket Airlines is also banned from operating on British territory, as are Air Mauritania and Phoenix Aviation (Kyrgyzstan), as are all airline companies of the DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Tajikistan, according to the list published on the United Kingdom's Department of Transport site. Belgium bans Africa Lines (Central African Republic), Air Van Airlines (Armenia), Central Air Express (DRC), ICTTPW (Libya), International Air Tours Limited (Nigeria), Silverback Cargo Freighters (Rwanda) and South Airlines (Ukraine), the site of its Ministry of Transport. Austria does not have any list of this kind, a spokesman for the Austrian Transport Ministry told EUROPE.