EU Bans All Airlines from Tanzania and Suriname Over Safety

The European Commission has updated its EU Air Safety List, banning all airlines certified in Tanzania and Suriname due to insufficient safety oversight by their respective national aviation authorities. The revised list, released on June 3, now includes 36 Tanzanian and nine Surinamese carriers, including Surinam Airways, the flag carrier of Suriname.

While Surinam Airways operates a direct service between Paramaribo International and Amsterdam Schiphol, the route is unaffected by the ban. The airline uses a wet-leased Airbus A340-600 from Germany-based USC, an approved EU operator. As the EU ban applies only to in-house operations, wet-leased flights from certified providers can continue.

However, Surinam Airways has confirmed the suspension of its route to Cayenne, French Guiana, as a result of the ban. Acting CEO Steven Gonesh stated that a Third-Country Operator (TCO) audit conducted by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in February identified minor issues. He said all corrective actions have been submitted and accepted by EASA and are currently being finalized.

Air Tanzania was already added to the banned list in December 2024, although it had no active flights to Europe at the time. Other Tanzanian airlines included in the ban also do not operate long-haul European services.

With the latest update, the EU Air Safety List now features 169 airlines, including 142 from 17 countries barred due to oversight deficiencies in their civil aviation systems. The list serves to protect EU airspace by restricting carriers that fail to meet international safety standards.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com