In the early 2000s, a number of European citizens died in aviation accidents involving air carriers from outside of the European Union (EU), including Egyptian carrier Flash Airlines, Tunisia’s Tuninter, Colombia’s West Caribbean Airways, TANS from Peru and Mandala Airlines from Indonesia.1 According to the European Commission (EC), the investigations into these accidents revealed that inadequate safety oversight by the operators and the authorities was a common factor. The EU determined there was a need for a tool to prevent unsafe airlines from operating to, from and within the EU and to warn the travelling public when flying outside of the EU. The result was Regulation 2111/2005, approved by the European Parliament in December 2005, which created the EU Air Safety List (ASL) sometimes known as the “EU blacklist.”
The ASL includes air carriers from non-EU countries that are assessed as failing to adhere to applicable international safety standards. The carriers …
