54 African airlines banned from EU skies
For several years, half a hundred African airlines - some of which are no longer operational - have been banned from the European Union (EU) sky. Despite multiple updates from the European Commission, the situation does not really seem to have changed.
New update, almost status quo for African airlines. Since 1 June 2022, 54 of them have been banned from entering European skies, compared to 53 a year ago. The majority of these, 51, are banned because of insufficient safety control by the aviation authorities of the states in which they are based.
This is the case for all those certified in Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Liberia, Libya, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone and Sudan. But also carriers registered in Angola, with the exception of TAAG Angola Airlines, the state-owned flag carrier, and Heli Malongo. As in June 2021, Med-View Airlines (Nigeria) and Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe) remain on the blacklist because of their "serious safety deficiencies".
"Air carriers listed in Annex A (above) could be allowed to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft from an air carrier which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the applicable safety standards are met," the European Commission said.
However, Air Service Comores, which could only fly to the European Union using certain types of aircraft, is no longer on the list. Worldwide, 117 airlines, including some 20 Russian ones, have been banned from EU skies.
- If an airline currently on the list of banned airlines in the EU
- If an airline currently on the EU banned list believes it is in compliance with the technical elements and requirements
- If an airline currently on the list of banned airlines in the EU considers that it complies with the technical elements and requirements prescribed by the applicable international safety standards, it may ask the Commission to launch the procedure for its removal from the list," the commission recalls.
