Philippine Airlines removed from EU blacklist
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
The European Commission (EC) has lifted flight restrictions on Philippine Airlines (PAL), allowing the national carrier to resume flights to destinations in the EU.
The European bloc placed a blanket ban on all airlines based in the Philippines in 2010, due to safety concerns. In the latest update of its aviation blacklist however, the EC said it would allow PAL to resume EU flights. For all other carriers registered in the Philippines, including Cebu Pacific Airways, the ban remains in place.
“The EU air safety list was created for the protection of European skies and citizens, but it can also serve as a wake-up call to countries and airlines in need to get their safety house back in order,” said Siim Kallas, the EC’s vice president for transport. “Today we confirmed our willingness to remove countries and airlines from the list if they show real commitment and capacity to implement international safety standards in a sustainable manner.”
Along with PAL, Venezuela’s Conviasa has been removed from the blacklist. However many countries’ airlines remain banned or severely restricted. According to the latest blacklist, a total of 278 airlines are banned from EU skies, including all but five airlines registered in Indonesia, and all but one in the Philippines and Kazakhstan.
Fourteen African and two Asian nations – Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan – are still completely banned from EU skies, while many others are only permitted to operate under tight restrictions in terms of aircraft type and flight frequency.
PAL, which secured investment last year and has recently embarked on a major route and fleet expansion strategy, said the lifting of the ban was “testimony to PAL’s reputation as a safe airline”.
It added that it now plans to relaunch flights to EU destinations, such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome and Madrid. PAL last flew to Europe 15 years ago.
Comments are closed.