Two years after the establishment of the first Community list of airlines subject to an operating ban in the European Union, the European Commission today 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but notes that there are still significant safety deficiencies which must be addressed by both before TAAG can be withdrawn from the list.

Hence, 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.

The new list replaces the previous one and can already be consulted on the Commission’s website.