BELGIUM AND FRANCE LIST BANNED AIRLINES
By Sarah Laitner in Brussels

FT
August 30 2005 03:00

France and Belgium have become the latest EU countries to disclose
which airlines are banned from using their airports because of safety
concerns.

Their decision to name 14 barred carriers will step up pressure on
other countries to agree to the creation of a Europe-wide public
blacklist of airlines.

“This list also has the merit, we hope, of leading the way at a
European level, so that we get a European blacklist as soon as
possible,” said Maxime Coffin, the director of France’s DGAC civil
aviation authority.

A spate of aircraft crashes this month in which more than 330 people
have died has increased pressure on countries to reveal which airlines
they have banned.

France named five blacklisted international airlines, while Belgium
revealed nine mostly African carriers barred from its airports.

French citizens made up most of the 160 people killed when a jet from
Colombia’s West Caribbean airline crashed in Venezuela on August 16.
The airline had passed two inspections on French territory.

The UK is the only other member state in the EU to make public which
carriers it has banned.

A Europe-wide blacklist, first suggested in February, would tell
passengers the name of every airline banned from any EU country.
European Commission officials say the list could be compiled by the
end of the year.

Bans are imposed by national authorities, which are meant then to
share safety information among themselves confidentially.

No EU-wide rules exist requiring that passengers, travel agents, tour
operators or other airlines be told of safety bans or restrictions
on particular carriers.

Italy said this week it did not intend to publish its blacklist.
Britain began publishing its previously secret list of 11 airlines
barred from its airspace after a charter aircraft owned by Flash
Airlines crashed in the Red Sea, killing 148 people, mostly French
tourists. Passengers did not know that the airline had for a time
been banned from Switzerland.

Thailand’s Phuket Airlines, Mozambique’s Linhas Aereas de Moçambique,
Air Saint Thomas of the US, North Korea’s Air Koryo and International
Air Services of Liberia are affected by the French ban.

Belgium said it had suspended landing permits for Africa Lines from
the Central African Republic, Egypt’s Air Memphis, Armenia’s Air Van
Airlines, Central Air Express of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
ICTTPW of Libya, Nigeria’s International Air Tours, Johnsons Air
of Ghana, Silverback Cargo Freighters of Rwanda and Ukraine’s South
Airlines.

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