Ebun Francia || The European has banned Nigerian airline, Medview from operating in Europe.
A statement by the commission said Medview is one of the 181 airlines banned from operating in the skies of the commission.
The statement read, “Today the European Commission updated the EU air safety list, the list of non-European airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union.”
“Following today’s update, all airlines certified in Benin and Mozambique are cleared from the list, following further improvements to the aviation safety situation in these countries.
“On the other hand, the airlines Med-View (Nigeria), Mustique Airways (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), Aviation Company Urga (Ukraine) and Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe) were added to the list due to unaddressed safety deficiencies that were detected by the European aviation safety agency during the assessment for a third country operator authorisation.”
The commission, however, said that airlines subjected to operating ban can operate in the EU using leased aircraft of another airline.
“Airlines subjected to an operating ban could be permitted to operate within the European Union by using wet-leased aircraft of an airline which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with.
“The aircraft being used in such operations could be branded as if it belonged to the fleet of the banned airline.”
Reacting to the ban, the management of Med-View Airline said its operation to London was not affected by the ban.
In a statement released by Isiaq Na’Allah, the airline’s Executive Director, Business Development, and Commercials, the airline said the public only misunderstood the pronouncement as a ban on its UK operations.
The statement said the airline had since been operating with her wet-leased aircraft, dismissing the panic generated by reports of the ban as end-result of “misinformation”.