Which airlines can you trust?

Aviation has been struck by severe turbulence in 2009 - with the financial woes generated by the global recession compounded by sustained assaults on the environmental sustainability of the industry.

But - while the IATA has warned airlines could lose over £9 billion over the course of the year, and the UK's Committee on Climate Change suggesting air travel may have to be rationed in order to survive - it is safety which has generated the greatest concern for passengers.

Crashes over the Atlantic (Air France) and in New York (US Airways), have focused public attention on safety in the skies - prompting many to ask how safe it really is to fly?

European Commission
But what many do not realise is the extraordinary amount of work which goes on behind the scenes to protect their safety.

A lot of this work is carried out in the sober corridors of the European Commission, which regularly audits airlines from around the world to ensure they meet the exacting criteria necessary to fly European citizens. Airlines which fail to make the grade will simply not be allowed to fly in European airspace.

"We cannot afford any compromises in air safety, we have to remain vigilant; citizens have the right to fly safely every where in the world," explains commission vice-president Antonio Tajani.

Blacklist
The first line of defence against potentially unsafe airlines is the Commission's blacklist - which details all airlines barred from European airspace. While largely composed of African and Asian airlines, there are also a number closer to home:

Can Airlines be Redeemed?
The European Commission argues one of the principal benefits of its blacklist – other than keeping Europeans out of unsafe planes - is the encouragement it offers to prohibited airlines to reform.

"The list acts a strong incentive to remedy safety deficiencies; withdrawal from the list is indeed possible, when the parties concerned put effectively in place sound corrective action to comply with all relevant safety standards," explained the Commission.

The most recent list, for example, saw four Indonesian airlines - Garuda Indonesia, Airfast Indonesia, Mandala Airlines and Premiair – removed from the list following "significant" safety improvements by the Indonesian civil aviation authority.

Safe to Fly
So then, with unsafe airlines banned and others encouraged to improve, European travellers can be reassured of their safety. Indeed the aforementioned Air France crash aroused such high levels of concern because it involved a flag-carrying European airline. Crashes involving such respected aviation companies are simply not supposed to happen.

But it is likely the event was the exception which proved the rule, with the European Commission acting to prevent unsafe airlines even offering their services on the continent.

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* (with the exception of one Airbus 310 registered in France)

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