Air Zimbabwe and Iran Aseman Airlines are just two of the 128 airlines that make up the European Union’s Air Safety list. The list prohibits them from flying to, from, or over EU countries. This is one of the many cases where countries have decided to restrict who flies in their airspace, but how does an airline end up banned, and how do they get around such restrictions?
Safety regulations
For most of the airlines on the EU’s Air Safety list, the reason they are banned doesn’t really have much to do with the airline itself. Instead, it’s the country in which they are based that prevents them from operating there. The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) has rules that countries must follow for safety purposes. These include having an aviation safety board and a body that reviews pilots. Therefore, countries that don’t meet these standards will have all of their airlines banned from EU airspace. This kind of rule is also true for the safety lists of most nations.
Moreover, in some rare cases, it’s not an airline that is banned but rather some of its aircraft. This is true for two airlines on the EU Air Safety list, which are categorized as “Annex B”. The term means that only certain planes in their fleets can operate in the EU. North Korea’s flag carrier, Air Koryo, can only fly its Tupolev Tu-204s, and Iran Air can’t fly the Boeing 747 or Fokker 100 to the EU.
Mixing Planes and Politics
One of the most frequent reasons for airspace bans is in response to recent political tension. The key example of this is of course Russia. Western nations quickly banned Russian carriers from operating to their destinations following the invasion of Ukraine. Russia was quick to retaliate, banning all major carriers but a few from using its airspace. Furthermore, Belarus’ airlines were banned for the diversion of Ryanair Flight 4978 to Minsk in 2021. In addition to this, the ban was extended for its participation in the war in Ukraine.
Sometimes countries set limits and issue warnings for their own aircraft on where they can and can’t go. These are given in the form of NOTAMs, and give advice about which airspace is particularly dangerous. This has recently been taking place over the skies of the Middle East, with many countries warning their aircraft not to enter Lebanese airspace due to potential dangers. There are also longer-term conflict zone notices issued by EASA and the FAA, which we discuss here.
How do airspace bans affect airlines?
Airspace bans can have a huge effect on the airlines on the receiving end, or in the case of politics, those who are caught in the crossfire. This can often lead to significant increases in flight times, and often the cancellation of routes entirely. Flights from Europe to East Asia have been drastically increased in length due to Russia’s actions. British Airways flights to Tokyo add a few more hours to the journey, going through the Middle East. The return journey isn’t much better, as it goes above North America. British Airways announced on August 8th 2024 that it would stop flights to Beijing, a route which it has been operating since 1980. This is because, like several European airlines, it can’t keep up with Chinese airlines who can fly over Russia.
How do airlines get unbanned?
If the ban is safety-related, airlines can get around it by wet leasing aircraft. This means that they can hire aircraft and crew which are maintained in other countries, and so are allowed to operate safely in otherwise restricted airspace. For a more permanent solution, countries can improve their safety regulations, and airlines can buy newer aircraft. This is true for Iraqi Airways and Air Zimbabwe, with the latter looking into newer aircraft to restore its former Harare-London Gatwick route. For political bans, there’s unfortunately not much an airline can do except wait for political tensions to tide over.
