France was the first European country to publish a blacklist of airlines banned from operating in the country. The list is meant to prompt French citizens around the world as to which flights they should avoid. As reported by Gazeta.Ru, a similar list will soon appear for the whole of Europe.
The list prepared by the French General Directorate for Civil Aviation (DGAC) includes five carriers: North Korea's Air Coryo (banned in France since April 2001), Air Saint-Thomas from the USA (ban since March 19, 2004), Liberia's International Air Service (since April 1, 2004), Mozambique's Lineas AER de Mozambique (ban since December 3, 2004, extending also to the carrier Transairways, whose aircraft are chartered by LAM), and finally Thailand's Phuket Airlines (ban since June 4, 2005).
France made public its blacklist after a series of aviation disasters and accidents that occurred in August. One such incident, which took place in Venezuela, cost the lives of 152 residents of the French island of Martinique. As stated in the DGAC document, the list may be updated over time: if the companies on it confirm their compliance with accepted international flight safety standards, they will be moved to the category of reliable carriers, and conversely, the blacklist may be updated with new airlines.
The published document is essentially a set of recommendations for French air passengers and companies that use air transport services. In other words, French authorities are informing their citizens that wherever they are in the world, it is better not to use the services of airlines included in the DGAC blacklist, as these carriers cannot ensure safety that meets international standards. DGAC hopes that soon, through joint efforts, a full blacklist will be created for the whole of Europe. According to Thierry Reviron, this is precisely the purpose of the publication. Belgium and Switzerland have already joined the initiative.
The Belgian blacklist, published last week, also consists mainly of companies from the Black Continent. Aircraft of nine firms are banned from appearing in the skies of the Kingdom of Belgium: Africa Lines (Central African Republic), Air Memphis (Egypt), Air Van Airlines (Armenia), Central Air Express (Democratic Republic of the Congo), I.C.T.T.P.W. (Libya), International Air Tours Ltd. (Nigeria), Johnsons Air Ltd. (Ghana), Silverback Cargo Freighters (Rwanda), and Southern Airlines (Ukraine).
Swiss authorities, following France and Belgium, published their own blacklist, banning two airlines from operating on their territory. These are Egypt's Flash Airlines and Armenia's Air Van Airlines, reports the France Press agency, citing an official statement from the Federal Office of Civil Aviation. The aircraft of these companies are prohibited from landing in Switzerland 'due to systematic safety problems,' the communiqué says.