Two years after the establishment of the first Community list of airlines subject to an operating ban in the European Union, the European Commission adopted the seventh update of the "blacklist". The Commission is imposing a ban on all operations of an additional Ukrainian airline (Ukraine Cargo Airways) as well as on all operations of the Congolese carrier Hewa Bora Airways.

At the same time, the Commission is closely monitoring the progress of corrective actions by carriers such as Mahan Air from Iran, TAAG Angola Airlines and all Indonesian carriers, all of which at this stage, remain on the list. 

Jacques Barrot, Commission Vice-President in charge of transport said that "The conclusion is clear: those States or airlines which fail to act decisively to resolve their safety deficiencies will be placed on the list. But our objective is not only to identify safety issues, but to resolve them. The Commission will continue tirelessly in its dialogue with States, their civil aviation authorities and their airlines to ensure that they attain acceptable levels of air safety on a sustainable basis."

With this update, Ukraine Cargo Airways is the third Ukrainian airline added to the list after Volare and Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines. The Commission is sending a strong signal to the authorities of Ukraine inviting them to strengthen enforcement of the safety standards.

The Congolese carrier Hewa Bora, which was previously allowed to operate a single aircraft under a special arrangement, which has ended, has seen all its operations subject to a ban in the Community as has been the case for all other carriers licensed in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the establishment of the firt Community list of banned carriers in March 2006.

In the case of TAAG Angola Airlines, the decision acknowledges the efforts made by the airline and its authorities but notes that there are still significant safety deficiencies which must be addressed by both before TAAG can be withdrawn from the list.

In the case of Mahan Air, the Commission will examine carefully the documentation presented by the carrier and will carry out a visit to Iran to verify the results of the implementation of corrective actions before it can withdraw it from the list.

In the case of Garuda Indonesia, the airline was heard by the Commission and the Air Safety Committee composed of Member States experts. The airline has made progress in the implementation of corrective measures, yet this is not sufficient. Furthermore the authorities of Indonesia have still to demonstrate that they have completed the corrective actions. Pending both this demonstration and the completion of remedial action by Garuda and the other airlines it was decided that none of the Indonesian carriers can be withdrawn at this stage from the Community list.

Cubana de Aviacion from Cuba and Islands Development Company from Seychelles, which reacted quickly and efficiently together with their authorities to resolve their safety problems have avoided their inclusion in the list, but remain under monitoring.

Hence, today, the Community’s list bans all carriers from Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In addition, 9 individual carriers' operations are fully banned in the European Union.