By Daisy Ayliffe - 16th March 2006
The EU has taken a decisive step towards implementing an airline blacklist.
On Wednesday EU officials finalised a blacklist of airlines that fail to meet safety requirements.
“We have just taken a decisive step", transport commissioner Jacques Barrot exclaimed.
“I am now in a position to ask the commission to quickly adopt the black list 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”.
The creation of an airline blacklist is unprecedented in Europe and follows numerous crashes last summer.
At present, carriers banned in one country can simply switch their landing destination, avoiding any restrictions.
Barrot has said he hopes the blacklist will help ease consumer concerns about airline safety.
"We had a tragic summer marked by a spate of air crashes that claimed more then 500 lives," Barrot told reporters last year.
“European passengers need to be assured that all aircraft abide by the highest safety standards. I want stringent safety rules to apply in all member states and to all airlines whether based in the EU or not.”
In future the commission may call for complete or partial bans on airlines found guilty of negligence.
“The blacklist will encourage all airlines operating in Europe to comply fully with safety standards and will dissuade unscrupulous airlines from starting up services in Europe. It will also avoid discrepancies between the way in which member states impose flight bans and restrictions,” the EU executive explains.
“But if an airline feels that it should be taken off the list because it again complies with safety standards, it can contact the commission or a member state, which may ask for the list to be updated.”
Once the blacklist is up and running, consumers will have to be told the name of their airline when booking a ticket.
Should their flight change or be shifted to a firm on the blacklist, travellers may be able to claim a refund.
The commission's blacklist is set to be published next week.
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