Air passengers need airline safety information

7.37.36pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 10th Oct 2005

Tom Brake MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, will today challenge the Government in the House of Commons debate on the Remaining Stages of the Civil Aviation Bill to release all available information to the public relating to blacklisted airlines.

Commenting, Tom Brake MP said:

"The recent spate of air disasters in Canada, Italy, Venezuela and Greece made August 2005 the worst month in airline safety in three years. There is still no comprehensive list available to passengers making their travel decisions on which airlines are blacklisted.

"I have tabled an amendment today requiring Alistair Darling to lay before Parliament a list of the airlines which are banned from UK airspace and a list of the airlines but are permitted to fly in UK airspace which are banned in any other country of the European Union. It isn't good enough for British passengers to have to wait until next year for this information.

"I shall also be asking the Secretary of State to explain why certain airlines are banned in other European countries but not in the UK. Air passengers in Britain need to know which airlines are unsafe."

Amendment being debated in the Civil Aviation Bill Report Stage on Monday 10th October

New Clause

Reporting of banned airlines

Mr Tom Brake, Dr John Pugh, Mr Paul Rowen

To move the following clause:-

"Within one month after the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament a list of the airlines which are banned from UK airspace and a list of the airlines which are permitted to fly in UK airspace which are banned in any other country of the European Union and the reasons why the Secretary of State has chosen not to ban these airlines from UK airspace and to update this list on a monthly basis thereafter."

# NB: The UK has made public the names of all the airlines it has banned - but not those of two others banned by another European country which are still able to fly to the UK (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3399077.stm)

# The European Commission proposed an EU Airline Blacklist back in February 2005. Under the plan, an airline banned in one EU nation would be barred from providing services to and from any other. The list would include European and non-European air carriers. In Britain, the Department of Transport publishes on its website counties and airlines whose aviation standards fail to meet those set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a UN agency (see: http://vanfossen.wordpress.com/2005/09/12/the-eu-airline-blacklist/)

# The draft was published as a reaction to the 3 January 2004 plane crash over the Red Sea, which killed 148 people, mostly of French nationality. It was sent to the Parliament this February. A vote is expected later this year. After the recent crashes in Canada, Italy, Venezuela and Greece, which made August 2005 the worst month in airline safety in three years (http://www.euractiv.com/Article?tcmuri=tcm:29-143351-16&type=News)

# NB: It is estimated that airlines on the list could be banned from EU air space from early 2006.

The countries denied permits to operate in the UK are: Tajikistan, Swaziland, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The website also says that permits have been refused to Air Mauritanie and Thailand's Phuket Airlines because of safety concerns (see: Guardian UK News Report).