The tragic crash of flight A310 Yemenia in June 2009, off the Comoros coast has revived debates over air transport safety. Tuesday, July 14, 2009, the European Union updated its "blacklisted" airlines: Yemenia was not on the list.

A Zambian carrier made its debut on the European blacklist. Africa is particularly affected by these bans because of the age and lack of maintenance of its aircraft.

256 airlines figure on the European airline blacklist which was created in 2006 at the initiative of the European Commission. The companies, from twelve countries and nine individual carriers, have been banned from flying to Europe. Restrictions have been levelled against seven other companies.

The ban affects many African countries. Airlines from eight African countries including one from Sudan and another from Rwanda do not have the right to fly to Europe. A total number of 115 African airline companies, which constitute 45% of the blacklist, have been banned from Europe.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has the most airlines banned from the European territory with fifty-seven airlines listed. Other countries include, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Benin with 18, 9 and 8 companies, respectively, banned from Europe.

Prior to the release of a blacklist, the European Union carries out inspections at its airports and checks the status of aircraft. Companies that lose the right to fly into Europe are among those with old or poorly maintained aircraft.

The list is updated every three months or at the request of a member country. Outside the European Union, the list has no legal value, although it may serve as an advisory for potential passengers as well as some agencies or even governments.

Source: Afrik.com