European Commission updates safety list of airlines

By Shola Adekola Tribune.com.ng

The European Commission has adopted the 19th update of the European list of air carriers which are for safety reasons subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union.
The European air safety list was also updated to reflect air carriers in existence in states referenced on the list in previous decisions: for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jet Congo Airways was added; for Equatorial Guinea, Punto Azul was added whilst GETRA, Guinea Airways, UTAGE, Euroguineana de Aviacion y Transportes, General Work Aviacion, Star Equatorial Airlines and EGAMS were removed upon evidence they ceased operations; for Indonesia, TransNusa Aviation Mandiri, Enggang Air Service, Surya Air, Ersa Eastern Aviation and Matthew Air Nusantara newly certified in Indonesia were added, whilst Megantara was removed upon evidence they ceased operations.
 For Mauritania, Mauritania Airlines was added whilst Mauritania Airways was removed upon evidence it ceased operations; for the Philippines, Aero Equipment Aviation Inc, AirAsia Philippines, Certeza Infosys Corp., Mid-Sea Express, Southern Air Flight Services, NorthSky Air Inc., Island Helicopter Services were added.
In addition, the Commission recognises the efforts of the safety oversight authorities of Albania, Aruba, Indonesia, Libya, Pakistan and Russia to reform the civil aviation system and notably to improve safety to guarantee that international safety standards are effectively and consistently applied.
The Commission is ready to provide active support for these reforms in cooperation with ICAO, EU Member States and the European Aviation Safety Agency.
The updated European air safety list includes all carriers certified in 21 States, accounting for 279 known air carriers, whose operations are fully banned in the European Union: Afghanistan, Angola, Benin, Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon (with the exception of three carriers which operate under restrictions and conditions), Indonesia (with the exception of six carriers), Kazakhstan (with the exception of one carrier which operates under restrictions and conditions), Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Swaziland and Zambia.