EU Expands Airline Blacklist

Robert Wall/Paris wall@aviationweek.com

All airlines with a Benin operating certificate, along with several other carriers, have been added to the European Union's airline blacklist.

The EU says the decision on Benin came after an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization highlighted problems.

The West African country joins Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo as countries that have all carriers banned. Gabon also falls in that category, except for some modern aircraft operated by Gabon Airlines and Afrijet.

Also new to the blacklist are several Kazakhstan-based carriers: Air Company Kokshetau, ATMA Airlines, Berkut Air, East Wing, Sayat Air and Starline KZ. Thailand's One Two Go Airlines and Ukraine's Motor Sich Airlines also are now banned from flying into the EU.

The European Union also says that Angola has been showing progress to address safety deficiencies. The EU visited Angola 14 months ago and ICAO did so in October. Issues identified by those site surveys are being addressed, the EC says, although it hasn't lifted the blanket ban yet.

Similarly, the EU visited Indonesia in February and reports progress.

Photo credit: Seandigger via Wikipedia