On 11 April, the European Commission included 21 airlines certified in Russia to the EU Air Safety List.
The EU Air Safety List 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.
According to the Commission, this decision reflects the EU’s serious safety concerns due to Russia’s forced re-registration of foreign-owned aircraft, knowingly allowing their operation without valid certificates of airworthiness. “This is in breach of international aviation safety standards,” says a press release by the Commission.
“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,” Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said.
She added that despite the context of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, 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.”
Following the update, a total of 117 airlines are banned from EU skies.
On 27 February, the EU shut down EU airspace for all Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft are no longer able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU.