Air transport: list of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the Community and informing passengers of the identity of the operating air carrier

ACT : Commission Regulation 474/2006/EC establishing the Community list of air carriers which are subject to an operating ban within the Community referred to in Chapter II of Regulation 2111/2005/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT : the European Commission has today adopted the first EU list of airlines which are banned in the European Union. The black list has been compiled on the basis of national contributions and after an in-depth analysis with Member State experts. The list consists of 92 companies which face a complete ban and 3 companies which face operational restrictions.

Member States have informed the Commission since then of any flight bans or operating restrictions in their territory and of the reasons for such bans. The Commission invited all the airlines concerned to express their points of view and contacted the civil aviation authorities responsible for their regulatory oversight. Some airlines submitted their comments in writing, while others presented them orally to the Commission and to the Aviation Safety Committee.

Bans and operational restrictions are only imposed based on evidence of violation of objective and transparent criteria which are published in the above mentioned regulation. These criteria focus on the results of checks carried out in European airports; the use of poorly maintained, antiquated or obsolete aircraft; the inability of the airlines to rectify shortcomings identified during inspections; and the inability of the authority responsible for overseeing an airline to perform its task properly.

Member States reported that five countries have an inadequate system for regulatory oversight. One important consequence of the black list will be to root out the practice of flags of convenience whereby some countries issue Air Operation Certificates to dubious airline companies.

The list will be updated as often as is necessary and at least every three months.

ENTRY INTO FORCE : 24/03/2006.