EU transport chief pledges to beef up airline safety

Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani yesterday (9 September) told MEPs that he plans to tighten checks on Europe’s airlines following the SpanAir crash in Madrid on 20 August, which killed over 150 people.

Speaking to the Parliament’s transport committee, Tajani said the Commission’s services were working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on a proposal aimed at introducing a minimum number of inspections each year in every member state. 

Beefed-up safety inspections could lead to the inclusion of European airlines on the EU’s famed “blacklist” – first established in March 2006 to enable citizens to identify which companies are safe to fly with and which are not. 

Up till now, no EU carrier has been included on the list, although there have been some close calls, notably for the Cypriot airline Ajet (EURACTIV 13/10/06). 

But Tajani said the air safety committee in charge of updating the list was due to meet on 3-5 November, adding that “the Commission will closely examine certain European operators”. “There will be no favouritism,” he added. 

The commissioner also announced that he would be making proposals in the course of 2009 to revise existing EU legislation on aviation safety. 

Two pieces of legislation – a 1994 directive establishing fundamental principles governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents and incidents and a 2003 directive on accident and incident reporting in civil aviation – in particular would need updating, he said. 

The main aim of the review would be to allow EASA – the independent body in charge of aviation safety in the EU – to participate in investigations and reinforce the legal framework around these. 

EASA’s competences are already due to be enlarged following the presentation of Commission proposals for a ‘Single European Sky’ in June. While the agency currently only deals with the certification and safety of airlines, Brussels wants to hand over responsibilities for aerodromes, air traffic management and air navigation services to the agency so as to counter the rising safety risk related to increased traffic (see our LinksDossier on the Single Sky). Tajani urged member states to give their backing to these proposals.

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