Airline 'under surveillance'

2009-07-03 10:27

Paris - France's transport minister has warned that Yemenia will have to make "very big efforts" in order to avoid being put on the European Union's blacklist of banned airlines.

Dominique Bussereau says the airline is under "close surveillance" following the deadly crash of Yemenia Flight 626 on Tuesday morning off Comoros, which killed 152 people. He says that the airline must now work to win back the confidence of its Comoran passengers.

Bussereau told RTL radio on Friday that he would underscore the warning during a meeting later in the day with Yemenia officials.

He added that the EU's blacklist would be made available to travellers on the French aviation authority's Web site later this month.

Meanwhile, Comoros President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi has declared a 30-day period of national mourning for the plane crash victims, according to an AFP report.

"From today, our country is in a period of mourning for 30 days," he announced on state television late on Thursday.

Sambi, who shortened his trip to the African Union summit in Libya, urged France to help establish why the Yemenia flight went down as it attempted to land in Moroni on Tuesday.

Only one passenger - 14-year-old Bahia Bakari - of the 142 and 11 crew survived the disaster. Sixty-six French nationals were also aboard the craft.

On Thursday, Sambi said rescuers had yet to recover any bodies from the site of the plane crash and appealed for more international help.

Yemenia airlines has come under attack from angry relatives who suspect the plane was not safe. Yemen's transport minister rejected criticism as unfair as no probe into the cause of the crash has been published. - AFP

- AP