EU Ban Surprise: Blacklist Sewn with White Thread

TUESDAY September 16, 2025

By Adieu Humble

The Tranquility News Correspondent, Tanzania

At the beginning of June, the EASA (European Union Civil aviation authority) abruptly placed all Tanzanian air operators on a ban list, without any prior warning.

Beyond casting shame on all Tanzanian companies, this drastic decision, made just before the high season, has caused widespread disruption and significant financial losses for Tanzanian airlines, tourism companies, hotels, and the government.

The ban came as a shock, especially since all of the companies, including those that do not operate international routes, had never been audited or inspected by EU authorities.

The official reason given was the weackness of TCAA (Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority).

We remind that the only official organism to control TCAA is ICAO and not EASA and according to the ICAO’s files, Tanzania is far not to be the worse.

This raises serious questions about the fairness and legality of a blanket ban that impacts companies not even flying to Europe.

And, naturally, the first question is why EASA took this very strange measure.

The High profitability of the routes Europe to Tanzania

For years, the Air France–KLM Group has relied on its highly profitable routes to Africa, with flights to Tanzania being exceptionally lucrative.

• A round-trip economy ticket from Paris to Cape Town averages around €750.
• A similar ticket to Nairobi averages around €850.
• The same ticket to Kilimanjaro averages a staggering €1,100.

Air France–KLM has enjoyed full planes and high revenues on these routes for decades.

The Rise of Air Tanzania (ATC)

Under the leadership of the late President John Magufuli, Air Tanzania embarked on an ambitious plan to become a major player in African aviation. It invested approximately $1 billion in a new, modern fleet and established new routes to China, India, South Africa, and the Emirates.

As part of its expansion, ATC applied to operate flights to Europe. This would likely boost tourism in Tanzania and bring down ticket prices for European travelers. However, it would also pose a direct threat to Air France–KLM’s monopoly on the highly profitable routes.

EASA’s Role in the Ban

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is responsible for granting flight permissions to airlines. When ATC first applied for permission to fly to the EU in 2023-2024, its application was denied, likely due to administrative issues.

However, ATC reapplied, and this time presented a strong case. Its new fleet of Boeing 787-800 Dreamliners, pilots certified by Boeing, and maintenance services handled by approved centers made it difficult for EASA to find a legitimate reason for denial.

Instead of targeting ATC directly, EASA, led by a former French aviation official, chose to act against the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA). By banning all airlines under the TCAA’s authority, EASA effectively blocked ATC from entering the European market without having to single it out. This collective punishment, which penalizes operators who have no intention of flying to Europe, is not only unfair but also raises legal questions about its proportionality.

A Historical Parallel: The Concorde Ban

This situation has a striking resemblance to a historical event from the 1970s. When Air France and British Airways introduced the Concorde, a revolutionary supersonic jet, the American government banned it from US airspace for 27 years, citing technical and administrative reasons.

Today, aviation experts widely agree that the ban was a pretext to protect American carriers from a powerful new competitor.

Fifty years later, it appears that a similar tactic is being used. The EU’s broad ban on Tanzanian airlines seems to be a maneuver to protect the economic interests of European carriers like Air France–KLM, just as the US ban on the Concorde was designed to protect American airlines.

There is a name for such behaviour, in the dictionary, this name is colonialism

1. To come in a country who did not invite you to come
2. To bring your own rules and laws and to impose them
3. To take commercial advantagesΩ