VZCZCXRO8309
RR RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0693/01 1911706
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 101706Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4141
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0623

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000693 
 
SIPDIS 
 
HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION - CONNIE HUNTER 
ROME FOR TSA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2017 
TAGS: EAIR ECON AO
SUBJECT: EU BLACKLISTS TAAG ANGOLAN AIRLINES 
 
REF: A. LUANDA 631 
     ¶B. LUANDA 675 
 
Classified By: CDA Francisco Fernandez for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: The EU has included TAAG (Angolan National 
Airlines) on its black list as of July 6.  Angola flirted 
with banning all EU flights to Angola in retaliation, but 
strong words of advice from the Ambassador and other foreign 
diplomats convinced the GRA to act sensibly to confront the 
issue and improve aviation safety rather than attempt to 
assuage national pride.  Media reaction in the government 
press was strongly nationalistic, focusing on TAAG,s modern 
fleet of newly-purchased Boeing airplanes, rather than its 
inability to meet ICAO aviation standards.  However the 
independent press was highly critical of the Ministry,s 
leadership in tackling the problems and guaranteeing aviation 
safety.  The announcement of the ban came on June 28, 2007, 
the same day a TAAG domestic airplane crashed in the northern 
city of M,banza Congo killing six passengers and seriously 
wounding another thirty-eight of the total 78 passengers. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) On Thursday, June 28, the European Union announced 
that it would include TAAG - Angolan National Airlines in its 
black list effective July 6, 2007.  Details were not released 
regarding the specific reasons for inclusion in the black 
list, however reports focused on out-of-date flight manuals. 
During the May visit of the Transportation Security Agency,s 
Representative to Luanda (reftel), he noted no net change in 
civil aviation improvements and advised the Angolans of the 
urgent need for Angola to move forward on aviation security 
if it wished to remain in the Safe Skies program. 
 
Transport Minister Seeks and Heeds US Advice 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶3. (C) Minister of Transportation Luis Brandao requested a 
meeting with then Ambassador Efird on July 3 to discuss the 
issue.  Vice Minister for Aviation (and former head of 
ENANA), Helder Preza and Director of Aviation Security 
(INAVIC) Pombal were also present;  DCM and P/E Chief 
accompanied the Ambassador.  Brandao started off with the 
explanation that the EU was punishing Angola for having 
purchased Boeing airplanes instead of Airbus.  Brandao and 
Preza characterized the European inspections of TAAG planes 
as nit-picking, and were not willing to admit their validity. 
 He mentioned the GRA was considering retaliatory action but 
he assured us that the Luanda-Houston petroleum industry 
charter &Houston Express,8 would not be effected, going so 
far as to ask whether it could increase the number of flights 
per week if the GRA implemented a ban against the European 
airlines. 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador Efird downplayed the Minister,s logic, 
noting that many other countries had purchased Boeing planes 
and had not suffered EU retaliation.  She told him that 
rather than deny offenses, Angola should start any public 
response by iterating the importance of aviation security to 
the GRA.  Further she advised the Minister to work with 
Boeing or one of the European carriers to improve TAAG and 
the GRA,s safety record in order to get off the banned list 
as soon as possible.  She advised the GRA not to cut itself 
economically and &shoot itself in the foot8 by banning EU 
airlines.  Referring to the previous US TSA visits (ref A) 
she reminded Minister Brandao that Angola needed to complete 
the process of establishing an independent airline regulatory 
authority with power to enforce safety measures.  She also 
reaffirmed the USG interest in working with the GRA on safe 
skies encouraging it to take the next steps necessary in our 
ongoing consultations. 
 
Goading the EU 
-------------- 
¶5.  (C)  The EU's resident Ambassador told the DCM at the 
July 4 reception that Angolan threats to ban European cariers 
greatly eroded possible support for the GRA on the issue.  He 
added that the EU commissioners felt no great urgency to 
provide technical assistance to Angola under such 
circumstances.  Apparently, at the June 28 and July 4 
meetings in Brussels on the issue, TAAG representatives 
continued defiant and blamed the EU attutude on TAAG's 
purhase of Boeings and retaliation by the French.  According 
to Luanda based EU staff, while the Angolans blamed the 
problem on the French authorities, ramp checks at all TAAG's 
European destinatios came up with the same problems. 
Although Brussels denied any connection to the EU ban, on 
July 6, EU President Durao Barroso cancelled his planned July 
 
LUANDA 00000693  002 OF 002 
 
 
13-14 visit to Luanda. 
 
Public Opinion on the side of Aviation Safety 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶6. (U) The Angolan government-run press portrayed the ban as 
a European effort to show favoritism to European carriers and 
oppress an African national airline from succeeding by 
invoking unfair competition.  The perception in Angola was 
that with the TAAG purchase of six new Boeing airplanes in 
November 2006 the airline has automatically complied with 
international regulations.  However the independent press was 
highly critical of the Ministry of Transportation and TAAG 
officials urging the GRA to take seriously the charges laid 
against TAAG. 
 
British Airways Dinged for the UK,s Efficiency 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶7. (C) The British Ambassador to Angola told us that the UK 
Department of Transportation on Friday June 29 informed the 
GRA that it was enforcing the EU ban prior to the July 4th EU 
vote.  This caused the GRA to retaliate by revoking British 
Airway,s landing rights in Luanda, forcing the cancellation 
of the once weekly BA London-Luanda flight only hours before 
it was scheduled to depart on June 30.  BA is still awaiting 
official permission to resume its flight although it has 
verbal assurances this will occur for the July 13-14 flight. 
Other EU carriers continue to operate on their regular 
schedules.  For its near daily flights to Lisbon, TAAG has 
worked out an arrangement to ferry people as far as Sal, Cape 
Verde, from where Cape Verde Airlines carries the passengers 
to Lisbon. 
 
TAAG Plane Crashes in Northern Angola 
------------------------------------- 
¶8. (SBU) In an unfortunate coincidence, the announcement of 
the EU blacklist came almost simultaneously with the news 
that a TAAG domestic aircraft had crashed on landing in the 
northern city of M,banza Congo, killing six and seriously 
wounding thirty-eight of the total 78 passengers.  The only 
Amcit on the plane walked away with a bump on his knee.  The 
TAAG plane was a Boeing 737.  Per ICAO regulations for 
airplane crashes involving US-manufactured craft, Embassy 
Luanda formally offered the assistance of the National 
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Boeing to the GRA on 
June 29.  Two Angolan civil aviation officials have traveled 
to Washington with the black boxes from the downed aircraft 
in order to investigate the causes of the crash.   Witnesses 
on the scene believe the crash to have been caused by pilot 
error. 
 
¶9. (C) Comment: Angola saw the EU ban as a direct blow to its 
national integrity and considered retaliation by banning EU 
flights as a matter of national honor, despite the 
devastating effect this would have had on the Angolan 
economy.  The GRA,s frustration and wrath at the current 
situation is directed at the Europeans, in particular the 
French, as a number of the inspections were carried out at 
Charles de Gaulle airport.  However, it is now - at least 
publicly - focused on the immediate steps it needs to take to 
improve its civil aviation oversight and standards.  We 
believe this is an excellent opportunity for the USG to 
reinvigorate our support for capacity building with GRA civil 
aviation officials.  Given the wake-up call the GRA is facing 
with the EU, and the President,s statements to Ambassador 
Efird (ref B) we believe the GRA will be forced and its civil 
aviation organization empowered to take some of the steps it 
has been dragging its feet on over the last year.  USG 
technical assistance to the GRA and TAAG at this time could 
only strengthen our bilateral relationship. 
FERNANDEZ