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Comments (6)
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Save/ShareEurope has one of the best safety records in the world when it comes to airplanes. Its safety rules are considered the gold standard by many. Yet many airlines based outside of Europe operate below essential safety levels. Member states of the European Union (E.U.) ban these airlines from operating in their countries.
In case you're curious, the E.U. has posted a PDF file naming the airlines blacklisted in Europe. You'll only encounter most of these airlines if you're flying in developing countries such as Gabon and the Kyrgyz Republic.
The good news? No airline based in North America is on the list.
The most disturbing detail? European experts don't think that Indonesia, a large country with a growing middle-class, adequately monitors the safety of its planes. No airline from Indonesia is considered safe enough to fly into E.U. countries.
Ready for a bit of gallows humor? One of the airlines on the blacklist is "Safe Air," based in the (not so) Democratic Republic of Congo.
The United States has not come up with its own blacklist.
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This is a subject of vital interest to frequent travelers, and should be provided with easy access to the information. So, where is the list of the names of these 196 airlines that we should avoid???
Posted By J.Koffler on July 8, 2009, 11:36 PM
Dear Mr. Koffler,
You have to go to http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/list_en.htm and click on the link to open the file to see the list.
Posted By Blog Editor on July 9, 2009, 8:58 AM
Checking the list, Garuda Indonesia appears to be specifically EXCLUDED from the list of banned airlines, none of which, in any case, is one most readers of this column will have ever flown on or even heard of. They are the obscure of the obscure. For those flying in Latin America frequently, such as me, it was interesting to note that not one country in that region is listed. The lists are of airlines registered in certain countries whose aviation authorities aren't up to snuff, and appear not to be based on anything the specific airline has done.
Posted By Dave on October 9, 2009, 6:26 AM
To add to Dave's comment, some airlines on this list are perfectly safe but are blacklisted because EU officials find their governments' airline regulators not up to EU standards. If the government can't get its act together, it doesn't necessarily mean the airlines are unsafe.
For example, all carriers based in the Philippines are banned in the EU due to failed international audits of the government's Civil Aviation Board. However, the two largest airlines, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific, have young fleets and good safety records. In addition, Philippine Airlines aircraft are maintained by Lufthansa Technik Philippines which serves as a regional maintenance hub doing light and heavy checks for many airlines (you will often see aircraft from other airlines in their hangars, such as Turkish and Virgin Atlantic). Cebu Pacific aircraft are maintained by SIA Engineering (owned by Singapore Airlines) and its Philippine facility is one of six around the world.
This list is misleading and I wouldn't let it determine which airlines not to fly. There are better sources on the internet.
Posted By Andrej on November 12, 2010, 1:53 PM
Hello. And Bye.
Posted By XRumerTest on June 20, 2011, 3:09 PM
I love reading blogs. It's even better than reading magazines or books.
Posted By odszkodowanie on March 2, 2012, 9:14 AM