EU bans all Indonesian airlines from operations in its region

Brussels: The European Commission, in the latest update to its EU blacklist of unsafe airlines, said it has finalised an operating ban on all Indonesian airlines as well as Angolan flight carrier TAAG Angola Airlines and Ukrainian cargo airline Volare Aviation Enterprise.

The ban on all Indonesia airlines includes that on national flag carrier Garuda, and comes after a series of recent crashes in the Asian archipelago, and also on account of the failure of Indonesian authorities' to provide adequate safety assurances.

Though no Indonesian airline flies regularly to and from the EU, the ban could have a big impact on passengers traveling in Indonesia as the European summer holiday season kicks off.

The Commission also said that it will relax restrictions imposed on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by allowing specific Boeing 747 and Airbus 310 aircraft to operate in the bloc. This would increase the number of aircraft in Pakistan International Airlines' fleet allowed to fly to Europe from seven to 19 of the carrier's 43 airplanes.

The EU executive also said that 10 Russian, 6 Bulgarian and 8 Moldovan airlines will cease operations in the EU on the basis of provisions adopted by those states in consultation with the commission. Other airlines from these regions and some others from the old Soviet-bloc nations would also keep away from operating in EU skies on a voluntary basis.

The commission started a safety ban list in March last year after a string of deadly accidents.