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On June 3, 2025, the European Union delivered a jolt to Tanzania’s aviation sector that had been quietly brewing behind closed doors in Brussels. In a sweeping and unforgiving move, the EU barred all air carriers certified in Tanzania, including the national airline, Air Tanzania, from operating within its airspace. The decision wasn’t sudden. It was the final result of a detailed safety audit that exposed deep-rooted flaws in both the country’s aviation operations and the body meant to regulate them.
The European Commission made the announcement as it unveiled an update to its Air Safety List, a tool designed to protect passengers by keeping unsafe airlines out of the EU. All Tanzanian airlines were added to the list, alongside those from Suriname, following what officials described as a “comprehensive safety assessment.”
What emerged from that review was troubling: Tanzania’s civil aviation oversight system lacked the muscle and rigor required to ensure safety. According to the EU’s findings, the country suffers from a critical shortage of trained personnel, routinely fails to enforce international airworthiness and operational standards, and has shown a pattern of non-compliance with global safety norms.
It was a damning verdict for a country that has long sought to position itself as a rising player in Africa’s air transport scene. Air Tanzania, in particular, has been aggressively marketing itself as a modern, expanding carrier with global ambitions. Now, with Europe off-limits, those ambitions have hit a hard ceiling.
“Passenger safety is not negotiable,” the Commission stated, making it clear that the ban was purely technical, not political. The decision was reached unanimously by EU Member State experts during a three-day session held in May under the EU Air Safety Committee, supported by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
This move places Tanzania among a growing group of countries whose civil aviation authorities are not trusted to uphold international safety standards. In total, 142 airlines across 17 countries are now banned from EU skies for regulatory failings. An additional 27 carriers, including several from Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Zimbabwe, and Iraq, are prohibited due to specific safety deficiencies.
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