Air Tanzania banned from flying to European skies over safety concerns
EU says decision is based on serious safety concerns identified during assessments conducted by its aviation safety experts
The European Commission (EU) has banned Air Tanzania from flying to the territory for failing to meet international safety standards.
In an updated EU Air Safety List, the bloc said all air carriers certified Tanzania in Suriname and Tanzania were included on the list and can no longer operate in the EU. Tanzania’s national carrier, Air Tanzania is the only airline that operates international rules.
“Ensuring the highest level of air safety for Europeans and all other travelling passengers is at the very heart of the Commission’s aviation safety policy. This decision is based on serious safety concerns identified during assessments conducted by European Union aviation safety experts. They revealed that civil aviation authorities in these countries are unable to ensure compliance with international safety standards for air carriers,” it said in a statement.
For Suriname and Tanzania, the EU said the identified safety shortcomings cover both operational and regulatory areas. These include a shortage of qualified personnel, ineffective oversight processes in flight operations and airworthiness, and non-compliance with international safety standards by both countries’ civil aviation authorities and certified air carriers.
The updated list is based on the unanimous opinion of Member State aviation safety experts, who met in Brussels from May 13 to 15 under the auspices of the EU Air Safety Committee.
“This Committee is chaired by the European Commission with support from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The European Parliament’s Transport Committee also supports the update. Decisions under the EU Air Safety List are based on international safety standards, and notably the standards decreed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),” the statement said.
Following today’s update, a total of 169 airlines are banned from EU skies.
Tanzania joins other African countries initially included in the list that now contains 142 airlines certified in 17 States, including Angola (with the exception of 2 airlines), Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Liberia, Libya, Sierra Leone and Sudan for similar reasons.
Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas said: “Passenger safety remains our top priority. Following a detailed technical assessment, the European Commission has added all air carriers certified in Suriname and Tanzania to the EU Air Safety List due to serious deficiencies in national aviation oversight. We urge both countries to address these issues promptly. The Commission stands ready to support their efforts toward full compliance with international safety standards.”
The move is likely to come as a major blow to President Samia Suluhu’s ambitions of growing the national carrier, which started operations eight years ago, to overtake much older regional airlines.
It currently operates 26 destinations but none of them was to a European country. Outside Africa, it only operated to Mumbai and Zhengzhou though it has plans of expanding its network and buying new planes.
