Happy 4th to all my American readers out there. (And I suppose, an unhappy 4th to all you King George III fans.)
On this very American holiday, I’ve decided to write about something has nothing to do with the US at all. Oh well – guess I can’t plan these things very well.
Today, I’m writing about two countries with very different approaches to aviation safety – Angola and Indonesia. See, last week, the European Union decided to add airlines from both countries to its “blacklist” of banned airlines. In Angola’s case, only the national airline, TAAG Angola was banned from flying to the EU. For Indonesia, every single airline from the country was banned (though none of them actually fly to the EU these days). You can read the article here, but the official blacklist here (pdf) isn’t updated yet.
How did they handle it? Well, Indonesia took it very seriously. Apparently the country signed a declaration with the ICAO announcing a bunch of initiatives to improve safety. Whether it actually fixes the problem or not remains to be seen, but it’s definitely the right step.
Meanwhile, we have little Angola. That’s one pissed off country. Their national airline TAAG just ordered some brand new Boeings and had been planning to launch a good-sized expansion. The ban on the airline flying to the EU is definitely a big blow, and they aren’t happy.
You’d think that the spotty safety record which was highlighted once again with an accident last week would give them a clue that they need to get their act in order. But instead, the country has decided to retaliate by banning British Airways from flying its once weekly flight to the country.
Way to go, Angola! Cut your country off from the rest of the world even above and beyond having your national airline blacklisted. That’s sure to help the economy. Maybe you should try actually listening to the EU instead of fighting them. You’re not going to win.
4 comments on “Angola and Indonesia – A Tale of Two Countries”
Maybe the reading on Angola should be a bit more qualified as they were about to start flying to London next month themselves.
TAAG was scheduled to begin a passenger service into London’s Gatwick airport this month….
The article is unclear though:
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Angola’s move against BA did not affect other carriers, including Air France and TAP Air Portugal, which will be allowed to continue their regular services to the Angolan capital.
But that situation could change if other European Union nations ban TAAG from EU skies.
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Isn’t the ban EU-wide?
Yeah, the ban is EU-wide, so I’m not exactly sure about their rationale for only banning BA. It’s probably more symbolic than anything, especially since it’s a once weekly flight.