Not all airlines are allowed to fly in the skies of Europe. Photo: Shutterstock The European Commission published yesterday (June 9, 2026) the 48th update to the EU Air Safety List. The data shows that 154 airlines are currently completely banned from flying in European skies.
This is a significant decrease compared to last year, when the number of banned companies was 169. The decrease is mainly due to the correction of deficiencies and the removal of sweeping restrictions over entire countries.
Among the notable anecdotes in the current update is the removal of Kyrgyzstan from the blacklist. The country's airlines were completely barred from flying to Europe for almost 20 years (since 2006), and now, following a comprehensive reform and a reduction in the number of operators there from 21 to just 8, they are allowed to return to European skies.
On the other hand, Air Express Algeria is the latest addition to the list after serious safety deficiencies were found.
The list consists of two main prohibitions. A blanket ban on all companies from certain countries due to a lack of proper government oversight (126 companies from 16 different countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Libya, and Nepal), alongside specific companies that were blocked due to internal failures (such as 22 airlines from Russia and a few companies from Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe). In addition, companies like "Iran Air" are restricted and are only allowed to fly specific aircraft models to Europe.
The European Union, in cooperation with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), bases its decisions on compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
The key factors influencing the decision include the quality of oversight by the local civil aviation authority in the country of origin, the level of crew training, and the quality of aircraft maintenance.
Another factor taken into consderation is the company's physical and regulatory ability to meet the stringent safety requirements even before the first takeoff to the continent.