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The European Commission announced Monday it will ban aircraft operated by Afghan airlines from its airspace starting Wednesday.
Several months ago, the EC demanded that Afghanistan develop its own Civil Aviation Authority in accordance with the international civil aviation standards established and controlled by ICAO. As the country has not complied with this demand, the EC said it will ban all Afghan carriers from its airspace from Wednesday, irrespective of the safety standards of the individual airlines.
The airlines expected to join Ariana Afghan Airlines on the EC's safety blacklist are Kam Air, Pamir Airways and Kabul-based Safi Airways. The news came as a “serious setback” to Safi as it argues it has adopted European safety standards (ATW Daily News, Sept. 29).
Safi CCO Claus Fisher told ATW the German CAA has inspected Safi’s aircraft multiple times since the carrier started its Frankfurt-Kabul service in June 2009. “These ramp checks have contributed to the optimization of our safety standards and have never led to an operating ban for Safi Airways,” he said.
Safi said it strongly believes in operating in accordance with western safety standards, and fully supports the EU regulators' actions to continuously improve the safety of civil aviation. He said the carrier hopes to make a deal within two or three months to buy a northern European airline that will act as the operator of the carrier's five-plane fleet. The European entity, which will be owned by German members of the Safi family, will own Safi's five planes and lease them back to the Afghan carrier. By re-registering its fleet, Safi can bring its fleet under European aviation supervision and again operate into European airspace,it said.
Until a deal is struck, Safi will wet lease a Boeing 757 from Madrid-based Privilege Style to circumvent the ban and keep servicing its route from Kabul to Frankfurt.“This could take up to six months,” Fischer said, adding that the ban is damaging to the carrier, which regularly transports Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai abroad. Nevertheless, he noted Safi will continue to operate. The carrier expects to be IOSA-certificated in January 2011.
Several months ago, the EC demanded that Afghanistan develop its own Civil Aviation Authority in accordance with the international civil aviation standards established and controlled by ICAO. As the country has not complied with this demand, the EC said it will ban all Afghan carriers from its airspace from Wednesday, irrespective of the safety standards of the individual airlines.
The airlines expected to join Ariana Afghan Airlines on the EC's safety blacklist are Kam Air, Pamir Airways and Kabul-based Safi Airways. The news came as a “serious setback” to Safi as it argues it has adopted European safety standards (ATW Daily News, Sept. 29).
Safi CCO Claus Fisher told ATW the German CAA has inspected Safi’s aircraft multiple times since the carrier started its Frankfurt-Kabul service in June 2009. “These ramp checks have contributed to the optimization of our safety standards and have never led to an operating ban for Safi Airways,” he said.
Safi said it strongly believes in operating in accordance with western safety standards, and fully supports the EU regulators' actions to continuously improve the safety of civil aviation. He said the carrier hopes to make a deal within two or three months to buy a northern European airline that will act as the operator of the carrier's five-plane fleet. The European entity, which will be owned by German members of the Safi family, will own Safi's five planes and lease them back to the Afghan carrier. By re-registering its fleet, Safi can bring its fleet under European aviation supervision and again operate into European airspace,it said.
Until a deal is struck, Safi will wet lease a Boeing 757 from Madrid-based Privilege Style to circumvent the ban and keep servicing its route from Kabul to Frankfurt.“This could take up to six months,” Fischer said, adding that the ban is damaging to the carrier, which regularly transports Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai abroad. Nevertheless, he noted Safi will continue to operate. The carrier expects to be IOSA-certificated in January 2011.