In early April 2014, Filipino-based carrier, Cebu Pacific, was officially removed from the European Union’s list of banned carriers.

In 2010, all airlines operating under the authority of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), were placed on the EU’s list of banned carriers after the EU questioned their ability to adhere to internationally recognised standards of regulatory oversight.

In March 2013, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audited the CAAP and determined that the regulator had successfully rectified all of the Significant Safety Concerns (SSC’s), which had been identified in 2010.

On the 10th April 2014, it was officially announced that Cebu Pacific had successfully demonstrated that it adhered to the required safety standards and had been removed list of banned carriers.

In late March 2014, the Ministry of Transport of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) withdrew the operating certificates for 10 airlines operating within the country. The airlines all failed the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recertification process, which had been developed and implemented with the objective of improving safety within the DRC‘s aviation industry.

The airlines failed to meet the required standards for the Document Evaluation & Demonstration and Inspection phases, which are a part of a five phase certification process.

The certification process was initiated by the Ministry of Transport to demonstrate an active approach to improving safety oversight within its area of jurisdiction.

In March 2014, a number of international airlines temporarily suspended operations to Sierra Leone’s Freetown-Lungi International Airport, after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) noted that the airport’s only emergency response vehicle became unserviceable and required repairs.

An adequately certified emergency response vehicle has since been instated at the airport facility.

This occurrence highlights the importance of an airport’s emergency facilities and infrastructure and its potential impact on the safety of an airline’s operation to a given destination.