Egyptian crash airline banned in Switzerland
The Egyptian charter company whose plane crashed into the Red Sea killing all 148 people on board was banned from Swiss airspace.
The Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) said it had banned Flash Airlines planes after detecting technical problems in one of their aircraft more than a year ago.
“A series of safety shortcomings showed up in a plane of Flash Airlines during a routine security check at Zurich airport in October 2002,” said Celestine Perissinotto of FOCA.
During the same month, one of Flash’s two Boeings was forced to make an emergency landing in Athens after an engine caught fire.
On Monday, FOCA reiterated that the ban had been imposed “strictly” for security reasons, after Flash Airlines denied the claim.
Mohammed Nour, chairman and chief executive for the airline, said the measure had resulted from a financial row over the firm’s handling agency in Switzerland.
A Boeing 737 owned by the company crashed into the Red Sea on Saturday shortly after take-off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. Most of the passengers were French tourists.
Egyptian officials say the crash appears to have been caused by a mechanical problem.
No response
Perissinotto said Flash Airlines did not respond to the Swiss report on the aircraft checked in Zurich.
“We have had no reaction since then,” she said.
The French transport minister, Gilles de Robien, said France had not been aware of the Swiss ban.
“I have heard it was more for economic reasons that this company did not fly over Switzerland,” he told France’s “Europe-1” radio station.
“Extreme caution is needed with this type of announcement, which adds emotion for families who certainly don’t need it at the moment,” he added.
Even though Flash Airlines was banned from entering or flying over Switzerland since October 2002, one of its planes was allowed to land in Geneva last year due to bad weather, FOCA said.
Safety checks
The Egyptian civil aviation ministry said on Sunday that all aircraft were subject to regular inspections according to international rules and regulations.
“No plane is allowed to take off until its safety has been checked,” said an Egyptian official.
Flash Airlines says the plane which crashed was ten years old and was regularly serviced in Norway.
Divers are still looking for bodies and for the wreckage of the plane, which is thought to lie at least 1,000 metres beneath the sea.
The two flight recorders of the plane are also still missing.
swissinfo with agencies
On Saturday morning a Boeing 737 of the Egyptian charter company, Flash Airlines, crashed into the Red Sea shortly after take-off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
According to Egyptian authorities, there are no survivors among the 148 passengers and crew on board.
Flash Airlines’ planes have been banned from Swiss airspace since October 2002 due to safety shortcomings.
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