On 22 March, 2006, the European Commission (EC) published a blacklist of airlines banned from operating into and out of the European Union (EU), including Norway and Switzerland, under EC Regulation 2111/2005, which came into force in January 2006.
The blacklist predominantly comprises carriers from five African countries – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Swaziland. These countries have been singled out due to their airlines’ poor safety records and the failure by their civil aviation authorities charged with maintaining safety standards to implement adequate regulatory oversight.
