Following the opinion of the aviation safety experts from the Member States who met under the auspices of the EU Air Safety Committee (ASC), on 2 June 2020 the Commission updated the EU Air Safety List, a list of air carriers which do not fulfil the necessary international safety standards and which, therefore, are subject to operational restrictions within the Union.

Introduced in order to ensure the highest level of air safety for Europeans and all other passengers travelling within the Union, its rules apply to all air carriers irrespective of their nationality and only to commercial air transport, i.e. to air transport of passengers and cargo for remuneration or hire, while private and non-commercial flights are excluded. More particularly, if the Commission or a Member State confirm evidence indicating serious safety deficiencies on the part of an airline or its oversight authority, the list will be updated to include such airline or all the airlines of such country. However, being included into the list is not permanent, inasmuch as states and air carriers can be removed by addressing a request to the Commission and by providing evidence of a sufficient capacity to implement international safety standards.

Following the latest update, which added all airlines certified in Armenia and reviewed the list of those certified in Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nepal, and Sierra Leone, the list includes now 96 airlines which are banned from European skies. Furthermore, three additional airlines are subject to operational restrictions and can only fly to the Union with specific aircraft types.

Marco Stillo