European air safety assessors have shelved a potential on-site inspection of Iraq’s civil aviation regulator, citing insufficient demonstrative progress on improvements.
Flag-carrier Iraqi Airways and another airline, Fly Baghdad, each remain blacklisted by the European Commission.
The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority presented updates on its efforts to enhance legislative and regulatory frameworks – as well as its oversight performance – to European air safety representatives in April.
“While these efforts are recognised as important steps, they remain in early stages of implementation,” says the Commission, in documentation accompanying its latest blacklist revision.
“Significant concerns persist regarding the timeliness of these measures, the consistency and quality of regulatory outputs, and their alignment with international safety standards.”
The documentation acknowledges “some progress” in such areas as recruitment, training, and drafting of updated aviation regulations.
But it adds: “Critical reforms, such as the adoption of a revised primary aviation law and the strengthening of the safety oversight system, remain incomplete or lack verifiable outcomes.”
While the Commission had previously indicated that an on-site assessment could take place in September this year, it has decided that such a step would be “premature and potentially counterproductive”, given the need for “further tangible and demonstrable progress across core areas” of Iraq’s aviation oversight system.
