EU to ban unsafe airlines from its skies

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Source: todayonline.com

EU to ban unsafe airlines from its skies

BRUSSELS — European Union (EU) aviation experts agreed yesterday on a list of airlines to be banned from its skies because of safety risks, following a series of deadly crashes last year.
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However, the European Commission said that it would not reveal the names of the airlines until it makes the unanimously agreed decision official within a week.
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"We have just taken a decisive step", said Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.
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"I am now in a position to ask the (European) Commission to quickly adopt the blacklist and to publish it, so that we can make sure that the companies identified in it will not have the possibility to enter Europe before they have resolved their problems," he added.
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To draw up the list, member states submitted individual evaluations of companies considered unsafe and experts then voted on which airlines should be included on an overall EU roster. The companies listed face either a full or partial ban from flying in the EU until they have dispelled safety concerns.
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The airlines were identified according to "checks carried out in European airports, the use of poorly maintained, antiquated or obsolete aircraft (and) the inability of the airlines involved to rectify the shortcomings".
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If safety risks were judged to be the result of the shortcomings of aviation authorities monitoring the company, then the ban can cover all airlines from the country concerned. — AFP