EU Removes Gabon from Euro Airspace Blacklist After 11 years

Gabonese airlines have been removed from the European Union blacklist.

This meant that flights from the country could not access the European airspace.

The EU Commission said it had “withdrawn Gabon from the list following improvements in aviation safety in that country.”

The decision announced last week makes it possible for airlines as the National Regional Transport (NRT), Solenta Aviation Gabon, Tropical Air Gabon and Afrijet Business Service to commence flights to Europe.

The commission said “Gabon was on the List already since 2008, so it is very good that we can recognise the efforts the aviation safety authorities in Gabon have made.”

Gabon can now heave a sigh of relief but not so for other African country’s that remain banned.

Carriers based in Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea remain blacklisted.

Eritrea, Liberia, Libya, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Sudan complete the affected countries.

The EU Air Safety List, compiles airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union