The European Commission has updated its EU Air Safety List and expanded it to ban 21 airlines certified in Russia, according to an announcement for the list’s latest update.
According to the announcement, there are serious safety concerns regarding these airlines’ operation in EU airspace.
“Following the update, 21 airlines certified in Russia are now included on the EU Air Safety List. This reflects serious safety concerns due to Russia’s forced re-registration of foreign-owned aircraft, knowingly allowing their operation without valid certificates of airworthiness. This is in breach of international aviation safety standards,” the announcement reads.
The Air Safety List now includes a total of 117 airlines that are all banned from operating in the EU. These include 90 airlines from various countries due to inadequate safety oversight, 21 airlines from Russia, and 6 additional airlines from various countries that were added along with the Russian airlines.
The Russian airlines that are now banned are:
- Aurora Airlines
- Aviacompany “Aviastartu” CO. LTD
- IZHAVIA
- Joint Stock Company “Air Company “Yakutia”
- Joint Stock Company “Rusjet”
- Joint Stock Company “Uvt Aero”
- Joint Stock Company Siberia Airlines
- Joint Stock Company Smartavia Airlines
- Joint-Stock Company “Iraero” Airlines
- Joint-Stock Company “Ural Airlines”
- Joint–Stock Company Alrosa Air Company
- Joint-Stock Company Nordstar Airlines
- JS Aviation Company “Rusline”
- JSC Yamal Airlines
- LLC “Nord Wind”
- LLC “Aircompany Ikar”
- Pobeda Airlines Limited Liability Company
- Public Joint Stock Company “Aeroflot – Russian Airlines”
- Rossiya Airlines Joint Stock Company
- Skol Airline LLC
- Utair Aviation, Joint-stock Company
Regarding the additional 6 airlines, the most recently added companies are:
- Avior Airlines (Venezuela)
- Blue Wing Airlines (Suriname)
- Iran Aseman Airlines (Iran)
- Iraqi Airways (Iraq)
- Med-View Airlines (Nigeria)
- Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Speaking specifically regarding the Russian airlines, Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean commented that the main reason for banning them is because the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency has been allowing them to operate without the proper certification. According to her, it is a safety threat to have these airlines operating as well as a breach of international rules regarding air safety.
“The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency has allowed Russian airlines to operate hundreds of foreign-owned aircraft without a valid Certificate of Airworthiness. The Russian airlines concerned have knowingly done so in breach of relevant international safety standards. This is not only a clear breach of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention), but it also poses an immediate safety threat,” said Adina Valean, Commissioner for Transport.
Valean, however, made it a point to make clear that the Commission’s ban on these Russian airlines has nothing to do with Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and should not be taken as another round of sanctions or punishment from the West.
“We are living in the context of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine. However, I want to make it crystal-clear that this decision is not another sanction against Russia; it has been taken solely on the basis of technical and safety grounds. We do not mix safety with politics,” Valean said.
