The European Commission has barred Air Tanzania from flying to or within the European Union because of poor safety procedures identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) – the EU agency responsible for ensuring safety and environmental protection in air transport in Europe.
Air Tanzania, which is the flag carrier airline of Tanzania, is now included in the blacklist of dangerous airlines that have been banned from operating across Europe.
The unusual, but not rare, action was announced yesterday by the EU’s Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, with the explanation that the inclusion of the airline in the EU Air Safety List led to the decision not to grant it a Third Country Operator (TCO) licence, a safety authorisation issued by EASA following a technical assessment for commercial traffic rights within the European Union.
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“The decision to include Air Tanzania in the EU Air Safety List underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards for passengers in Europe and worldwide. We strongly urge Air Tanzania to take swift and decisive action to address these safety issues. I have offered the Commission’s assistance to the Tanzanian authorities in enhancing Air Tanzania’s safety performance and achieving full compliance with international aviation standards,” Commissioner Tzitzikostas was quoted as saying.
Following this development, Air Tanzania joins the list of a total of 129 airlines that are banned from EU skies: 100 airlines certified in 15 states, including Afghanistan, Angola (with the exception of 2 airlines), Armenia, Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia and Libya, due to inadequate safety oversight by their respective local aviation authorities, and 22 airlines certified in Russia, as well as seven individual airlines from other countries, based on serious safety deficiencies below the required international standards.
At the time of reporting, the Tanzanian authorities had already issued their response on the matter. Gerson Msigwa, the Government Chief Spokesperson, said the government is currently in discussions with European Union aviation authorities to lift the suspension imposed on the country’s national airline.
“EU aviation experts are expected to visit Tanzania soon to complete the vetting process. This inspection will be a crucial step toward granting Air Tanzania the licence to operate in EU airspace,” he said.
He stated, however, that at the time of the ban, Air Tanzania did not operate any routes to EU destinations, but they were in the process of obtaining the mandatory TCO authorisation and operating permits to access and use EU airspace.
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