The European Union has so far not included the Turkish airline Southwind Airlines in the pan-European sanctions lists, which several European countries have stopped allowing into their airspace at once, the European Commission told RIA Novosti.
"EU sanctions are adopted unanimously by the member states and published in the Official Journal of the EU. At the moment, the EU has not accepted sanctions against this company," the representative of the European Commission explained. At the same time, the EC expressed support for "measures taken by EU member states to ensure the uniform application and effective enforcement of EU sanctions."
Earlier, European media reported that on March 28, the EU banned the Turkish airline Southwind Airlines from flying to the countries of the union and in its airspace. It was indicated that such a decision was made after the application of this airline for flights between Finland and Turkey.
Sources from Southwind Airlines said that first Germany and Romania have banned the airline, but after the other countries not follow the decision, they have made European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to step in.
Southwind Airlines itself complained that the EU ban had not been accompanied with any official document, and CEO Şükrü Can claimed the action had been "completely unfair and based on rumors". The airline has now started legal steps against the EU flight ban.
According to Can, Southwind Airlines had flown more than 400,000 passengers to Europe since August 2022 without any problems. For 2024, 100,000 of the 300,000 seats allocated to the German market had already been sold.
