Forbes.com: EU Parliament backs Europe-wide airline blacklist
EU Parliament backs Europe-wide airline blacklist
BRUSSELS (AFX) - The European Parliament has overwhelmingly approved a Europe-wide blacklist of unsafe airlines, in a package of measures to bolster air safety following a 'tragic summer' of deadly plane crashes. The EU deputies voted by 577 in favour and 16 against the measures, which also include proposals to boost EU aviation authorities powers in areas such as licensing pilots. Currently there is a patchwork of rules on suspect airlines in Europe: for example France and Belgium have this year introduced blacklists of banned airlines, following Britain and Switzerland which already have such lists. The incoherence of current rules was highlighted in May when a Turkish airline, suspended by four European countries, simply redirected its flights to Belgium which had no ban. That incident was followed by a string of fatal accidents over the summer, including crashes involving Europeans in Canada, Venezuela and Greece in August. EU transport commissioner Jacques Barrot said the new safety measures should help reassure passengers about airline safety in Europe.
