EU ‘will create airline blacklists’

The European Union has reportedly agreed to a deal that will allow the setting-up of so-called “blacklists” of airlines that are deemed to be dangerous. As previously reported, the subject came under intense scrutiny earlier this month after a plane owned by Flash Airlines crashed into the Red Sea, killing 148 people. It later transpired that the carrier had been banned in Switzerland since 2002 – but that the information was not made available until after the crash. Now, reports the BBC, the EU will be able to name and shame – as well as ban – airlines causing concern. The deal is expected to be approved by European ministers in February or March, and a list could be compiled and published by the end of this year. Under the new rules, any country that suspects an aircraft or carrier represents a danger will be able to report their concerns to the European Commission. The BBC website quotes MEP Nelly Maes, “rapporteur” on the safety of planes and airlines, as saying: “The Flash accident will mean huge progress in the field of air safety, as the Prestige oil tanker did in the field of marine safety. It is very sad to see that the council and the commission were only prepared to act when those disasters forced them to act.”