Zambian airlines cleared to fly in EU airspace after 7-year ban

After seven years, all certified Zambian airlines have been cleared to fly in EU’s airspace after the update of the EU Air Safety List by the European Commission on Thursday, June 16.

The clearance means the certified airlines in the country meet the international safety standards of the commission as stipulated in the Aviation Strategy of the EU adopted in December 2015.

The Zambian government expressed pleasure with the decision which will improve the country’s trade and tourism sectors.

“Zambia has been producing organic products which are of high demand in Europe therefore the lifting of the ban will give us easy access to that market and boost our exports,” a representative of the Zambian ministry of transport and communication told the press.

The EU Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc said in a statement that their priority is aviation safety and to ensure the highest level of safety for European citizens.

“I am happy to say that after seven years of work and extensive European technical assistance, we were able to clear all Zambian air carriers from the list,” the statement added.

All Zambian carriers cleared from the #AirSafetyList + most aircraft from #IranAir can resume operations to #EU: https://t.co/TlAGYk3Wrm

— Violeta Bulc (@Bulc_EU) June 16, 2016

216 airlines are currently facing the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ban and among them are 214 certified airlines in 19 countries who are on the list due to a lack of safety oversight by their aviation authorities.

Among the 19 countries are 13 African countries including Angola, Benin, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Djibouti.

The European Commission says it is working on implementing the project, Supporting the improvement of air safety in Sub-Saharan Africa project (SIASA), to raise safety standards, enhance safety oversight and reinforce expertise.