World's worst airlines - read the list

The European Union today banned 92 airlines, mostly based in sub-Saharan Africa, from landing at European airports due to failures in meeting international safety standards.

Jacques Barrot, the EU Transport Commissioner, said the EU was barring 50 carriers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 14 from Sierra Leone and seven from Swaziland. The blacklist, which includes charter and cargo operators, cuts off almost all air ties between these countries and Europe.

M Barrot said that some planes used for flights to Europe and possibly elsewhere were "flying coffins", whose safety records were at best "dubious".

He said the high number of listed Congolese airlines was partly due to years of civil war after which old military planes were converted for civilian and cargo use.

"There was a very difficult period in that country where there were military clashes. And a number of planes used for military operations were then just converted into charter planes," he said.

"In Africa they tend to use planes manufactured in the former Soviet Union. They were basically patched up and they are under suspicion for their poor safety record."

Only one airline from Congo, Hewa Bora Airways, is allowed to use one approved plane for its flights to the EU, while another African airline, Air Mauritania was given a grace period of two months to meet EU safety standards.

The blacklist also includes Ariana Afghan Airlines, North Korea’s Air Koryo and Thailand’s Phuket Airlines. Two airlines from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are also listed.

Lesser restrictions were placed on Air Bangladesh and Buraq Air from Libya, which will be able to operate flights if they use certain planes that have met safety requirements.

"This blacklist will keep dubious airlines out of Europe. It will also make sure that all airlines operating in Europe’s skies meet the highest safety standards," said M Barrot. He added that aid would be given to help African nations to meet required safety standards.

The list was published on the EU’s website and is supposed to be brought to the attention of customers by travel agents, both at ticket sales offices and on their websites. Tour operators will have an obligation to inform passengers on the identity of the carrier.

Under the new rules, passengers also will have a right to compensation if the airline on which they were to fly was included on the blacklist.

The commission said it would review the list every three months with the EU’s aviation safety agency, either adding new airlines or taking off carriers that meet EU safety standards.

The list published today aims to replace the patchwork of bans implemented by individual countries. France and Belgium introduced their rules last year, following examples set by Britain and Switzerland.

It will prevent airlines banned from one country from registering the same plane in another.

The danger was exposed last May when a Turkish airline, suspended by four European countries, simply redirected its flights to Belgium which had no ban. This was followed by a series of fatal accidents including crashes involving Europeans in Canada, Venezuela and Greece in August.

M Barrot added: "We’re protecting Europe from practices which involve sending good planes to the big markets and leaving the flying coffins for less viable destinations."