The Independent (Banjul)
12 January 2004
Banjul — The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has reacted swiftly to a controversial list of airlines from eight countries including The Gambia, banned from flying in UK air space for not meeting up to international flight standards.
In a statement disputing the Gambia's inclusion hours after the BBC published the list of countries affected by the air embargo, the GCAA said it was clarifying that "the ban which was imposed over ten years ago only affects aircraft registered in The Gambia, but not airlines operating from Banjul".The country's aviation authority was quick to point out that "all existing flights out of Banjul to the United Kingdom are not in any way affected by this development".According to the BBC the naming follows the Flash Airline crash in Egypt two weeks ago, coupled with the revelation that the Swiss had banned Flash from its airspace before the airline disaster that claimed more than one hundred lives.
According to the BBC aside from those operating in The Gambia all aircraft operated by airlines from Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and Tajikistan have also been banned. Others blacklisted include Sierra Leone's Star Air and Air Universal, Cameroon Airlines, Albanian Airlines and Central Air Express, from DR Congo. British authorities made it clear that Britain has a "rigorous Safety regime" for Air travel and cannot entertain airlines that had failed to meet important international air safety regulations.
"If we have evidence that International standards are not being met a permit may be refused or revoked. Permits may also be refused for other reasons, such as non-payment of fines for offences under immigration legislation," a British official had told the British Parliamentary inquiry into the rationale behind the latest blacklist.
"In addition, we require permit applicants, where appropriate, to confirm that aircraft are equipped with certain equipment such as ground proximity warning systems and the airborne collision avoidance systems.
Permit applications have been turned down in the absence of such confirmation."
Two airlines banned or restricted in at least one European country in 2002 were still flying from the UK in 2003.
But their names are being kept secret, amid international confusion on confidentiality rules, according to a BBC Online.
"If a government bans an airline from its airspace it has to have a good reason. "And we have a right to know whether it is sensible to get on an Aircraft" the British authority indicated.
Meanwhile in a bid to boost confidence in Banjul International Airport services and overall safety measures Ngoneh Mboob the GCAA public relations officer, told The Independent that the airport security is rated Category 1, which means that its security status is excellent.
Airport services, according to Ngoneh is rated Category 2, which means all aircraft flying in and out of the country are certified as airworthy.
"The public is hereby being assured that the ultimate goal of The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority is to attain Category 1 rating. This would allow Gambian registered aircraft fly to any destination in the world and also have great economic benefits by encouraging more airlines to come to BIA", the GCAA statement concluded.
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