The European Commission has updated the European Union Air Safety List and has cleared all airlines certified in Zambia from the list, along with Air Madagascar.
The EU Air Safety List names airlines that do not meet international safety standards and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union.
"Aviation safety is my top priority and today's update illustrates our continuous efforts to offer the highest level of air safety to European citizens,” said Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport, in a statement released on June 16. “I am happy to say that after seven years of work and extensive European technical assistance, we were able to clear all Zambian air carriers from the list.”
Keira Irwin, Commercial Director at Proflight Zambia, which operates flight into and within Zambia, has welcomed the news. She said that the lifting of the ban would likely mean an increase in tourism to Zambia. “We expect to see more tourists visiting from the EU as a result of the ban being lifted.”
Linden Birns, MD of Plane Talking, commented: “It’s great that they’ve removed some countries and some carriers from their list, but we never knew what they were on the list for in the first place because they were never specific about what the problems were and what they wanted to see being done to correct it.”
Birns said the ban had prompted Iata to initiate the Iata Operational Safety Audit system. ”It’s all very transparent, the criteria are well known, and the carriers concerned are advised of the remedial action they need to take to close any gap.”
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