UAE bans An-12 again

THE UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), has banned the An-12 from operating within its airspace again. Effective from 1 March, according to the GCAA, the ban is “aimed at raising safety standards in the civil aviation sector in the UAE”.

Ismail Mohammed Al Balooshi, director of safety at GCAA, said: “There were numerous incidents that involved Antonov aircraft in year 2008, including three minor incidents at Sharjah International Airport and one crash in Iraq. That is why GCAA made an initial decision to temporarily ban this aircraft model which posed a threat to air safety.”

Despite aiming at subduing maverick operators, the UAE blanket banned An-12s last January for four months, due to those safety concerns, infuriating legitimate An-12 operators. When it lifted the ban it required only those operators that presented a certificate of airworthiness from the Antonov Design Bureau in Ukraine could restart operating the cargo aircraft.

However, the GCAA also set up a special committee to assess the Antonov Design Bureau itself as well as the wider civil aviation administration system in Ukraine.

“The results of the assessment by the technical committee regarding the airworthiness of Antonov An-12…showed that this aircraft cannot be operated safely,” said Al Balooshi.