The Dutch have withdrawn the landing rights of Istanbul-based Onur Air, a low-fare challenger to Turkish Airlines, for a month after one of the carrier's A300s developed problems with its thrust reversers and aborted takeoff May 10 at Antalya, Turkey. The Netherlands Civil Aviation Organization (IVW) said, "There have been a series of incidents of late."

The carrier, which has been flying since 1992, operates 26 aircraft.

Esat Aksat, general manager for Onur Air in the Netherlands, said in a statement, "Onur Air is an airline which stands for safety, reliability and service." The airline makes about 300 flights a week to Europe, including 75 to the Netherlands.

The Dutch saw a deterioration over time in the carrier's safety practices (the airline had been on a watchlist for about a year), and the carrier failed a Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft Program (SAFA). The Dutch are not alone in banning the airline, having been joined by Germany, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Onur Air now operates all flights to Western Europe through Charleroi, Belgium, and busses passengers onward from there to Western Europe destinations. Obviously, they fly through German, Dutch, or Swiss airspace, so apparently they're only banned from landing in these countries.

Onur Air has been under scrutiny since an accident in 2003, when an MD-80 (then the cream of their fleet) overran a runway on takeoff and ended in a field with several injured passengers. Dutch authorities say Onur Air must improve safety in the next month if it is to win back landing rights. According to the Dutch, the latest action stems from a variety of problems at Onur Air.

The action against Onur Air adds to the list of airlines banned in the UK and Europe, including Flash Air, MK Airlines and Phuket Air, all of which have had crashes or incidents following a series of incidents (see ASW, Jan. 24, Jan. 31, and May 9).

The Dutch Bill of Particulars Against Onur Air

• Amsterdam Schiphol: After takeoff, a plane returned to the airport with engine problems. The captain initially refused technical examination of the aircraft. After examination by Onur technicians, they released the plane for service. However, Dutch technicians found "a big error" in the engine oil system. The engine was replaced.
• Groningen Airport: During descent, a pilot reported a landing gear problem but landed safely.
• Groningen Airport: Onur plane overran the runway.
• Onur leased two Lockheed Tristars. Both planes had hydraulic problems; one Tristar was flying with an engine that had to be replaced because it had reached its maximum takeoff and cruise hours. The two Tristars were banned from Dutch airports.
• Turkey: An A300 aborted takeoff because of a fire alarm in the cargo hold.
• Maastricht: An Onur Air A300 had to try for three times to become airborne at the very end of the runway.
• Maastricht: An Onur airplane had problems braking on the runway; one engine reverse did not work, and one of the brakes had an error and the airplane almost overran the runway.
• Maastricht: An Onur airplane [A300] had to abort takeoff due to problems in both engines.
• Some of the cabin crew didn't speak good English; some of the cabin crew were not trained in the A300 safety course.
• Pilots had used expired navigation and airport charts.

Source: Dutch Board of Transport and Waterways