REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the delegation of power under Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2005 on the establishment of a Community list of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the Community and on informing air transport passengers of the identity of the operating air carrier, and repealing Article 9 of Directive 2004/36/EC
Date: 2025-06-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: air safety, air traffic control, airline, carrier, common transport policy, consumer information, delegated legislation, delegation of power, transport licence

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.6.2025  COM(2025) 320 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the delegation of power under Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2005 on the establishment of a Community list of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the Community and on informing air transport passengers of the identity of the operating air carrier, and repealing Article 9 of Directive 2004/36/EC  
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

Regulation  (EC)  No  2111/2005  (hereinafter  "the  Regulation")  establishes  a  framework  for 
establishing, maintaining and publishing a list of air carriers that are subject to an operating ban 
within  the  Union  for  safety  reasons  (EU  Air  Safety  List).  It  set  outs  common  criteria  for 
imposing an operating ban on an air carrier, that are based on the relevant safety standards, and 
provides  for  making  available  the  information  on  the  identity  of  the  operating  air  carrier, 
ensuring  transparency  for  passengers.  Moreover,  the  Regulation  mandates  that  EU  Member 
States enforce, within their territory, the operating bans on air carriers that are included in the EU 
Air Safety List since they fail to meet the relevant safety standards. These measures are designed 
not  only  to  protect  passengers  by  preventing  unsafe  airlines  from  operating  in  the  Union’s 
airspace,  but  also  to  inform  the  general  public  about  air  carriers  that  do  not  meet  safety 
obligations. 

Paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to 
amend the Annex to the Regulation to modify the common criteria to take account of scientific 
and technical developments. 

In  addition,  Article  8  of  the  Regulation  empowers  the  Commission  to  adopt  delegated  acts  to 
supplement the Regulation by laying down detailed rules in respect of the procedures referred to 
in its Chapter II, taking due account of the need for decisions to be taken swiftly on updating the 
list.  These  provisions  collectively  grant  the  Commission  the  authority  to  adopt  delegated  acts, 
enabling it to refine and supplement procedural  rules governing the EU Air Safety List, and to 
manage the EU Air Safety List efficiently. 

In connection with this empowerement, paragraph 2 of Article 14a of the Regulation stipulates 
that  the  Commission  is  to  present  a  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  in 
respect of the delegation of power conferred on it by the Regulation, ensuring transparency and 
accountability in the exercise of its delegated powers. 

2.  EXERCISE OF THE POWER TO ADOPT DELEGATED ACTS 

Since the entry into force of the Regulation, the  Commission has exercised the power to adopt 
delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Article  3(2)  and  Article  8  on  two  occasions  to  ensure  that  the 
Regulation  remains  effective,  transparent,  and  aligned  with  evolving  safety  standards  and 
procedural requirements. 

2.1.  Amendment of the Rules on the Updating of the EU Air Safety List  

The  first  delegated  act,  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2023/6601,  was  adopted  to 
amend the detailed rules in respect of certain procedures for the updating of the EU Air Safety 

1 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/660 of 2 December 2022 laying down detailed rules for the list of 
air carriers banned from operating or subject to operational restrictions within the Union referred to in Chapter II of 
Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 
473/2006 laying down implementing rules for the Community list of air carriers which are subject to an operating 
ban within the Community referred to in Chapter II of Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council, OJ L 83, 22.3.2023, p. 47, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2023/660/oj. 

1 

 
 
 
List, replacing Regulation (EC) No 473/20062, which initially laid down implementing rules for 
the list of air carriers subject to an operating ban in the Union. 

The primary objective of this delegated act was to ensure that the rules governing the assessment, 
inclusion,  and  removal  of  air  carriers  from  the  list  remain  transparent  and  legally  robust. 
Additionally, the amendments introduced improvements related to air carriers’ right of defence 
during the evaluation process. 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  this  delegated  act,  the  Commission  consulted  experts  from  Member 
States in accordance with the principles of the Inter-institutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on 
Better Law-Making3. The draft delegated act was presented to the Commission Expert Group on 
Aviation Safety. 

Consequently,  pursuant  to  the  empowerment  granted  under  Article  8  of  the  Regulation,  the 
Commission laid down detailed procedural rules for updating the EU Air Safety List, ensuring 
that decisions are taken swiftly and in a structured manner. 

2.2.   Amendment of the Common Criteria 

The  second  delegated  act,  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2023/6614,  was  adopted  to 
amend the Annex to the Regulation, which sets out the common criteria for imposing operating 
bans  on  air  carriers.  This  initiative  followed  the  2019  evaluation  of  the  Regulation,  which 
recognised its continued relevance, but also highlighted the need to refine its interaction with the 
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation 
process. 

The  amendment  aimed  to  enhance  the  implementation  of  the  Regulation  by  replacing  the 
existing Annex with an updated version incorporating a cross-reference to relevant provisions in 
Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  452/20145.  Additionally,  the  amendment  included  necessary 
elements for assessing the conditions under which an existing operating ban may be lifted if the 
underlying safety deficiencies have been resolved. 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  this  delegated  act,  the  Commission  consulted  experts  from  Member 
States  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  Inter-institutional  Agreement  on  Better  Law-
Making.  The  draft  delegated  act  was  presented  to  the  Commission  Expert  Group  on  Aviation 
Safety. 

2 Commission Regulation (EC) No 473/2006 of 22 March 2006 laying down implementing rules for the Community 
list  of  air  carriers  which  are  subject  to  an  operating  ban  within  the  Community  referred  to  in  Chapter  II  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2111/2005  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  OJ  L  84,  23.3.2006,  p.  8,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/473/oj. 
3 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 
4 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/661 of 2 December 2022 amending Regulation (EC) No 2111/2005 
of the European Parliament and of the Council on the common criteria to consider the implementation or lifting of 
an operating ban at Union level, OJ L 83, 22.3.2023, p. 54, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2023/661/oj. 
5  Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  452/2014  of  29  April  2014  laying  down  technical  requirements  and 
administrative  procedures  related  to  air  operations  of  third  country  operators  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EC)  No 
216/2008  of 
the  Council,  OJ  L  133,  6.5.2014,  p.  12,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/452/oj. 

the  European  Parliament  and  of 

2 

 
 
 
 
Consequently,  pursuant  to  the  empowerment  granted  under  Article  3(2)  of  the  Regulation,  the 
Annex of the Regulation was amended through the adoption of this delegated act. 

3.  CONCLUSIONS 

For  the  reasons  outlined  in  the  preceding  section,  the  Commission  has  exercised  its  power  to 
adopt  delegated  acts  on  two  occasions  to  amend  and  enhance  the  regulatory  framework 
governing the EU Air Safety List.  

The first amendment replaced Regulation (EC) No 473/2006 with updated procedural rules that 
strengthen  legal  certainty,  efficiency,  and  the  right  of  defence  for  air  carriers  subject  to  an 
operating  ban.  The  second  amendment  refined  the  common  criteria  used  to  assess  operating 
bans, ensuring better alignment with the EASA TCO authorisation system. 

With this report, the Commission complies with the reporting requirement under paragraph 2 of 
Article  14a  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  2111/2005  and  invites  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council to take note of this report. 

3