RUSSIAN AIRLINES ADDED TO EU OPERATING BAN
On 11 April, the European Commission updated the EU Air Safety List, which is the list of airlines that are subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union, because they do not meet international safety standards.
Following this update, 21 airlines certified in Russia have been 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, which is in breach of international aviation safety standards.
Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, said: “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. 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.”
The full list and more information is available in a press release and a Q&A.
Source: European Commission