Yemeni airline banned for servicing EU-based jets

Shola Adekola, Lagos - 02.07.2009

THERE seems to be more troubles ahead for the Yemeni carrier whose plane crashed off the Indian Ocean on Tuesday as the airline has been banned for now from servicing European Union-based jets after failing audit inspections, a European Union agency said.

According to findings, the move would not have affected the Airbus A310 involved in the Yemenia crash since the plane was registered in Yemen, over which European safety authorities had no jurisdiction.

But it added to a picture of European concerns in advance of the disaster after France said it had barred the same aircraft from its airports and the EU Commission said the crashed plane had also sparked an EU inquiry two years ago.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which was responsible for certifying operations outside the EU bloc, granted Yemenia approval to carry out maintenance on EU-registered aircraft in 2006, but suspended this in February, a spokeswoman said.

“These approvals are for maintenance organisations located outside the EU, allowing them to maintain aircraft registered in the EU. “Yemenia was suspended at the end of February due to the result of recent audits. Suspended does not mean revoked; it can be reinstated if corrective action is in place,” the spokeswoman for the Cologne-based agency said.

She was responding to a query about details contained in a June 5 regulatory filing.