Sudan criticizes EU ban on its airlines

March 31, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese civil aviation authority described as “unprofessional” a decision by the European Union (EU) to ban all airlines in the country from entering the region’s airspace citing safety concerns.

Yesterday the European Commission which manages the airline “blacklist,” said in a press release that it imposed “an operating ban on all operations of Sudanese air carriers, due to a poor safety performance of the civil aviation authority of Sudan resulting from persistent non-compliance with international standards in the area of oversight”

But the acting Sudanese civil aviation administration director Al-Hafiz Abdullah said that there are no EU bound flights operating in Sudan.

Abdullah stressed that his agency adheres to the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and outlined several changes introduced to the structure of the civil aviation administration and boosting budget allocated to air safety.

A 2008 report by the U.S. Department of State advised American citizens against flying on Sudanese airlines, saying that enforcement of safety standards in the country was “uneven.”

The East African nation has a poor reputation for air safety, especially on domestic flights. Last October a Sudanese cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), killing all six crew members on board.

In June 2008, another cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off from Khartoum airport, killing all four Russian crew. It was the fourth fatal air accident in Sudan in two months. In 2003, a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 crashed in the east of the country, killing 104 passengers and 11 crew members.

Sudan Airways says because of US sanctions imposed on Sudan it has been unable to receive spare parts and training for its planes. However, the US says it is prepared to make exceptions for humanitarian reasons upon request.

(ST)