The European Union (EU) yesterday banned 93, mostly African-based airlines from landing at European airports, declaring them unsafe as part of a new blacklist of airlines that fail to meet EU safety standards.

The EU list, compiled from the 25 EU countries, includes both cargo and passenger carriers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Liberia judged to have an "inadequate system for regulatory oversight" on safety standards and which will now no longer be able to fly to EU destinations.

The EU listed 50 barred carriers from the DRC alone, 14 from Sierra Leone and seven airlines from Swaziland. The list also included Ariana Afghan Airlines, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Air Koryo and Thailand's Phuket Airlines, which will also face restrictions on being able to operate flights to Europe, until it moves to meet EU airline safety rules.

Lesser restrictions were placed on Air Bangladesh and Buraq Air from Libya, which will be able to operate flights if they use leased planes that meet safety requirements, the European Commission said.

"This blacklist will keep dubious airlines out of Europe," EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said. "It will also make sure that all airlines operating in Europe's skies meet the highest safety standards."

The EU list also covers aircraft chartered from companies in non-EU countries. It was published on the EU's website yesterday and is supposed to be brought to the attention of customers by travel agents, both at ticket sales offices and on their websites, EU officials said.

Tour operators will have an obligation to inform passengers on the identity of the carrier.

Under the new rules, passengers will also have a right to compensation if the airline on which they were to fly was included on the blacklist or replaced by a blacklisted airline after they bought the ticket.

The commission said it will review the list every three months with the EU's aviation safety agency, either adding new airlines or taking off carriers that meet EU safety standards.

Source: China Daily