Kyrgyzstan Cleared from EU Aviation Blacklist After 19-Year Ban

(MENAFN) Kyrgyzstan has been struck from the European Union's aviation safety blacklist after nearly two decades, marking a landmark regulatory milestone for the Central Asian nation's airline industry, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry announced Monday.

In a Telegram statement, the ministry confirmed that the European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport had lifted the ban on all air carriers certified in Kyrgyzstan, removing them from the EU Air Safety List — a designation that had barred the country's airlines from operating in or overflying European Union airspace.

The decision followed a meeting of the EU Aviation Safety Committee held May 19–21 and is set to be formally enshrined through a European Commission regulation.

Kyrgyz airlines had been blacklisted since 2006 — a span of 19 years — after repeatedly failing to meet international aviation safety standards, with the ban extending to overflights across EU airspace.

The European Commission credited Kyrgyzstan's turnaround to sustained reform efforts, specifically citing technical consultations, an on-site assessment visit conducted in March 2026, and successful hearings held in Brussels, according to the ministry.

The Commission has pledged to maintain ongoing technical cooperation with Kyrgyz aviation authorities to help consolidate and sustain the gains achieved — signaling that while the blacklist ban has been lifted, the partnership to uphold safety standards is far from over.

MENAFN09062026000045017169ID1111231595