BELGIUM (AP) – The European Union on Friday banned all Angolan airlines from flying to the 27-nation bloc, citing safety concerns.

Angola joins seven other countries whose carriers are blacklisted from flying to the EU. They are Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Congo.

“The blacklist is essentially a tool that ensures safer skies in Europe,” said Antono Tajani, the European Commission’s vice president in charge of transport.

An October audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency, found “significant safety concerns” with all Angolan carriers.

The EU also bars more than 150 individual airlines from entering its air space, including North Korea’s Air Koryo, Ariana Afghan Airlines, Ukraine Mediterranean Airways and Cambodia’s Siem Reap Airways.

Airlines from Angola banned from flying to the EU – Instablogs.