Four Bulgarian carriers lose license
Bulgaria joins the EU and its airlines must meet the EU’s safety standards; six of the country’s airlines fail insepction and lose license
Expecting packages from Bulgaria? Be careful: The aviation certificates of four Bulgarian cargo carriers was taken away becasue of lax security. Among these are Air Sofia, Bright Aviation Services, Scorpion Air, and Vega Airlines. Heli Air keeps its right to continue operating outside the EU, but cannot ferry cargo to European airports. Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) Bulgaria decided that Air Scorpio will have the right to participate only in instruction and flight lessons.
CAA’s decision was prompted by Bulgaria’s new membership in the EU and comes almost two years to the day since Bulgaria signed the EU accession treaty in April 2005. Airlines licensed by EU member states must meet strict safety standards, the the CAA decision was the result of a series of its inspections which confirmed that these cargo carriers failed to meet safety requirements. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will now monitor the work of these companies more closely during a “probation” period.
The companies said that they would undertake measures to meet European safety requirements, valid for all EU member states. License removal was enforced on 21 June.
