The new licensing law will be implemented next year, Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the General Civil Aviation Authority, told a local daily and added that its introduction will be followed by the publication of a blacklist of airlines that are banned from using the country’s aviation services.

Al Suwaidi said 30 operators were banned from operating in the country and more would be outlawed in future if they failed to comply with regulations and standards.

The draft law was being reviewed by a specialist technical committee and was close to completion.

He also said many of the important provisions had been introduced from the beginning of this year.

‘The measures include stopping operators and even national airlines coming to the UAE,’ he said in an Interview with Emirates Business.

‘The new licensing regulation will give us more control over the airlines using our space,’ said Al Suwaidi.

‘The key aim of the draft is to ensure the highest security and safety requirements for airlines that acquire licences to operate in the UAE or use the country’s airspace.’ He said the new measures are being adopted following the growing number of air accidents around the world.

Asked why there was a need for such regulations now, Al Suwaidi said: ‘It is mainly safety and security, we need to exert our authority over both local and foreign operators. We are obliged to protect our interests and our society from aircraft that do not meet the minimum International Civil Aviation Organisation safety requirements and standards.

He added that the UAE was not simply adopting the European Union’s list of banned airlines but was developing its own list.

‘We are coming up with our own blacklist and banning the bad operators. We don’t follow other’s decisions because we have different considerations and criteria. For instance, the recent aircraft that crashed in Sharjah was not blacklisted in Europe.’