02/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission agreed on 28 March to Poland and Hungary's request to extend the airworthiness certificates of certain aeroplanes and helicopters made in the Soviet Union. This mainly concerns Antonov aeroplanes (An-26 and An 26B) produced in the 1970s and 80s in the USSR which only operate on domestic flights and which have not yet received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (under the 2003 regulation, all aircraft models operating within EU territory must be approved by the agency and civil aircraft must receive an airworthiness certificate and flight authorisation made out by the agency at the request of the member state where they operate). The certificates for the Antonovs have been extended to September 2009. Kamov helicopters also came under the same decicion (A.By.)