Blacklisted Turkmenistan Airlines Can Finally Return to the European Skies

After months of being on the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) blacklist, Ashgabat-based Turkmenistan Airlines can return to EU skies.

Back in February, a visit to the airline from the EASA prompted a halt to Turkmenistan’s operations in the EU. The agency said the carrier failed to comply with international air safety standards, but did not mention any specific failures. As a result of the ban, the airline launched immediate efforts to assess the issues cited by the EASA and develop a plan to meet EU expectations.

With the help of Lufthansa Consulting, Turkmenistan was able to improve its safety, flight operations, maintenance, and quality standards. Throughout the process, the airline was sending progress reports to the agency, and once they resolved the issues, they invited the EASA to the company to access its operations. In a statement sent to Reuters, the EASA lifted the ban on Tukermenistan Airlines following a satisfactory on-site audit. The ban was lifted on October 11th.

A statement said in a press release, “The carrier has been committed to raising its performance and took immediate action following the difficulties in satisfying relevant requirements in context with the EU Safety Authorizations for foreign air operators – EASA TCO at the beginning of this year… They went the extra mile to achieve the goals.”

Dr. Andreas Jahnke, the Managing Director of Lufthansa Consulting, said, “Together with our client Turkmenistan Airlines we are delighted and proud of jointly having achieved this great success to reauthorize the airline as Third Country Operator. There are certain tasks to be done by the operator to ensure sustainable implementation of the measures and Lufthansa Consulting is looking forward to continuing the fruitful cooperation.”

The airline will resume operations beginning October 26th, with Frankfurt, Germany as its first destination. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 777s, Boeing 757s, and Boeing 737NGs.

[Featured Image: Wikimedia]