List Also Includes Angolan, Ukrainian Airlines; Goes Into
Effect July 6
Authorities in Brussels said Thursday the European Commission
has updated its blacklist of unsafe airlines. It issued an
operating ban to include all 51 Indonesian airlines as well as
Angolan flight carrier TAAG Angola Airlines and Ukrainian cargo
airline Volare Aviation Enterprise.
Indonesian airlines have had a series of serious accidents this
year. The Federal Aviation Administration downgraded the country's
rating in April. The FAA and the International Civil Aviation
Organization both have warned the country's civil aviation
procedures did not meet international standards, according to the
Associated Press.
Also factoring into the ban decision was the fact that
Indonesian authorities hadn't answered repeated questions posed by
the EU up until the actual Commission meeting on Wednesday. Even
then, many questions remained unanswered as the Indonesian
officials present could not provide answers to such questions as
the number of aircraft Indonesian carriers had, an EU official
said, according to AFX News Limited.
"Once more, the EU blacklist will prove to be an essential tool
not only to prevent unsafe airlines from flying to Europe and to
inform passengers traveling worldwide but also to make sure that
airlines and civil aviation authorities take appropriate actions to
improve safety," said Jacques Barrot, commission vice president in
charge of transport.
The director of air transport safety at Indonesia's transport
ministry, Iing Iskandar, told Agence France-Presse that there had
been no official word received from the EU and would not
comment.
"We are committed to improving safety and security in our
planes. We have made action plans and regularly survey our
carriers," he said.
According to the AP, Budhi Suyitno Mulyawan, a top official at
Indonesia's Transport Ministry, said the Commission had yet to
review the country's latest data on its airline's safety.
"We were late in delivering the latest data to European
Commission, but we will bring the latest findings - which show
Indonesia's airlines are getting better now -- to the meeting of
the EC in October," he said.
The Commission also announced it had eased restrictions
previously imposed on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
operations within the EU, according to Earth Times.
In March, PIA was banned from flying in the EU unless it used
only 777 jets that were maintained outside of the country. The
Commission noted enough improvement in the carrier's standards, it
will now allow specific 747s and A310s to be operated by the
carrier within EU airspace.
This move will increase the number of aircraft PIA is allowed to
fly to Europe from seven to 19 of its fleet of 43 airplanes. Prior
to these new additions, the EU had 91 airlines on its blacklist, 74
from Africa alone.
The updated blacklist goes into effect July 6.
As ANN reported, a TAAG
Boeing 737-700 crashed on landing in the northern region of that
country Thursday. At least six people were killed, with several
other injuries reported.
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