Ukrainian, Iranian Airlines Added to Blacklist

The European Union (EU) is barring a Ukrainian and an Iranian airline from flying to and from the 27-nation union. EU transport officials added Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines and Iran's Mahan Air to its airline blacklist because they do not meet EU safety standards. Officials received notification of safety concerns from several EU countries concerning the two airlines. Officials from both air carriers were questioned by the European Commission as part of safety assessments. The EU's airline safety blacklist is regularly updated. The list now includes more than 150 airlines that are barred from flying to the EU. Many are air carriers in poorer African nations, but all 51 Indonesian air carriers as well as cargo operator Volare Aviation Enterprise from Ukraine also populate the list. The air carriers can be removed from the blacklist only after meeting international airline safety standards and passing inspection by European experts.