Three countries' carriers banned from European airspace

(Pincasso)

The European Union has added the airlines of three further countries to a list of carriers not allowed to operate in its airspace.

All air carriers certified in Djibouti, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome and Principe will no longer be allowed to operate in Europe, restricting them from passing through European airspace or landing at any of over 4000 airports in the EU.

"We cannot afford any compromises in air safety. Citizens have the right to fly safely in Europe and anywhere else in the world", said Commission vice-president Antonio Tajani. "We cannot, however, accept that airlines fly while not complying with international safety standards. This endangers all of us who unknowingly could be on an unsafe plane."

The list includes airlines from 15 countries (228 companies) in total that are prohibited from flying into Europe, based on inspections and concerns raised by the civil aviation authorities of the 27 European Union member states. Five individual carriers are banned, with a further eight carriers allowed to operate under restrictive conditions due to safety concerns. Three Ukrainian airlines were removed from November 27's edition of the blacklist.

Europe's Air Blacklist
Angola (with the exception of one carrier which operates under restrictions and conditions)
Benin
Democratic Republic of Congo
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon (with the exception of three carriers which operate under restrictions and conditions)
Indonesia
Kazakhstan (with the exception of one carrier which operates under restrictions and conditions)
Kyrgyz Republic
Liberia
Republic of Congo
Sierra Leone
Sao Tome and Principe
Swaziland
Zambia