Banned from our air space !!

The Banned List
BBC News

A list of airlines from eight countries which are banned from flying in UK air space has been published.
All airlines operating from Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia and Tajikistan have been banned.

The others on the blacklist are Sierra Leone’s Star Air and Air Universal, Cameroon Airlines, Albanian Airlines and Central Air Express, from DR Congo.

The naming follows the Flash Airline crash in Egypt last week, and the revelation the Swiss had banned Flash.

Banned Airlines:
Star Air (Sierra Leone)
Air Universal (Sierra Leone)
Cameroon Airlines
Albanian Airlines
Central Air Express (DR Congo)

Responding to a question from Tory MP David Wilshire, Transport Minister Tony McNulty said that the UK had a “rigorous safety regime” when it came to air travel.

“If we have evidence that international standards are not being met a permit may be refused or revoked. Permits may also be refused for other reasons, such as non-payment of fines for offences immigration legislation,” he said in a written answer.

“In addition, we require permit applicants, where appropriate, to confirm that aircraft are equipped with certain equipment such as ground proximity warning systems and the airborne collision avoidance systems.

“Permit applications have been turned down in the absence of such confirmation.”

It is understood that two airlines banned or restricted in at least one European country in 2002 were still flying from the UK in 2003.

But their names are being kept secret, amid international confusion on confidentiality rules, BBC News Online has learned.

Mr Wilshire told BBC News: “If a government bans an airline from its airspace it has to have a good reason.

“And we have a right to know whether it is sensible to get on an aircraft.”