There will be no operation by the Nigerian air operator, Medview airline in the airspaces of the European continent, following a landing embargo imposed on the airline by the European Commission.
The ban, said the commission, was premised on the failure of the airline to meet the minimum international safety standard.
Medview was one of the 181 non-European airlines that received the axe according to a statement by the commission.
The statement said “Today the European Commission updated the EU air safety list, the list of non-European airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union.
“Following today’s update, all airlines certified in Benin and Mozambique are cleared from the list, following further improvements to the aviation safety situation in these countries.
“On the other hand, the airlines Med-View (Nigeria), Mustique Airways (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), Aviation Company Urga (Ukraine) and Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe) were added to the list due to unaddressed safety deficiencies that were detected by the European aviation safety agency during the assessment for a third country operator authorisation.”
The statement said airlines subjected to operating ban can operate in the EU using leased aircraft of another airline.
“Airlines subjected to an operating ban could be permitted to operate within the European Union by using wet-leased aircraft of an airline which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with.
“The aircraft being used in such operations could be branded as if it belonged to the fleet of the banned airline.”
Med-View began flying the Lagos-Garwick route on November 20, 2015, with a Boeing 767 aircraft, which operated four times a week.
The management of Med-View Airline said its operation to London was not affected by the ban.
The airline’s Executive Director, Business Development and Commercials, Isiaq Na’Allah said in a statement that the public misunderstood the pronouncement as a ban on its UK operations.
The statement said the airline had since been operating with her wet-leased aircraft, dismissing the panic generated by reports of the ban as end-result of “misinformation”.
The statement added that the ban falls under exception rule in EASA, Annex A, where it states that “Air carrier listed in Annex A could be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier, which is not subject to an operating ban.
“The Airline regretted the anxiety the misinformation may have caused its teeming passengers and assured them that there is no basis for alarm as the Lagos-London flight remains unaffected,” Mr Na’allah said.
