BISHKEK, JUN 10: The European Commission has removed all air carriers certified in Kyrgyzstan from the EU Air Safety List, ending restrictions first imposed in 2006.

The decision opens a route back into European Union (EU) airspace for airlines certified in Kyrgyzstan. Regular flights cannot start on the delisting alone. Each airline will still need aircraft suited to European routes and approval to operate under EU rules.

The change came through the EU’s 48th update to the Air Safety List. After the update, 154 airlines remain banned from EU skies. The list also identifies 16 countries where the EU says national aviation authorities lack adequate safety oversight.

Airlines certified in Kyrgyzstan were added to the list in October 2006 under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1543/2006. That decision followed a European expert mission to Kyrgyzstan from September 10 to 15, 2006. The EU found that the country’s civil aviation authority lacked enough capacity to apply and enforce safety standards under the Chicago Convention. It also found that most of the carriers inspected held Kyrgyzstan-issued air operator certificates but did not have their principal place of business in the country.

The 2006 decision placed all air carriers certified by Kyrgyzstan’s aviation authorities under a blanket ban. Last September, The Times of Central Asia reported that 16 carriers from Kyrgyzstan were still on the list, out of 169 banned airlines worldwide.

Kyrgyzstan moved through the final stage of the EU review process over the past year. Last October, the State Civil Aviation Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic held a technical meeting with the Commission. In February, the agency submitted evidence on the revised Kyrgyz Air Code, along with new rules for airline certification and recertification.

An EU assessment team visited Kyrgyzstan from March 23 to 27. It examined how the new legal framework worked in practice and reviewed the recertification of airlines. The team also checked the SCAA’s oversight of operators and visited AeroStan Air Company LLC and Avia Traffic Company.

The Commission Implementing Regulation credited the agency with significant progress in applying the revised Air Code and related aviation legislation. The new legal framework gave it an acceptable basis for certification and oversight.

The EU still identified weaknesses. Recurrent training and document control were not yet consistent enough, while oversight procedures needed clearer standardization. Some aircraft safety checks still require attention, including non-destructive testing at approved maintenance organizations.

Kyrgyzstan reduced the number of active operators before the EU decision. Between December 2025 and February 2026, all certified air carriers went through a full reassessment. Active air operator certificates fell from 21 to eight. The SCAA said only carriers able to meet the new safety and regulatory requirements kept their certificates.

The decision followed the EU Air Safety Committee meeting in Brussels from May 19 to 21. By then, Kyrgyzstan had closed 19 of 23 observations from the March assessment and seven of 12 recommendations. The remaining items were described as being at an advanced stage.

The removal has renewed attention on direct flights between Kyrgyzstan and Europe. Airports of Kyrgyzstan Chairman Manasbek Samidinov said Germany would be the first European destination.

Samidinov told Kabar that Airports of Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement in March to purchase two Airbus A321 aircraft, with delivery expected in March 2027. “As soon as the aircraft arrive, we will immediately open flights to Germany,” he said.

The aircraft plan was already in motion before the EU decision. In March, The Times of Central Asia reported that Airports of Kyrgyzstan had signed an agreement to acquire two Airbus A321ceo aircraft from BBAM Aircraft Leasing & Management. The aircraft are intended for Asman Airlines, a state-owned carrier under Airports of Kyrgyzstan.

The agreement supports the route plan, but direct flights cannot begin until the aircraft arrive. The carrier will also need European operating approval and a viable schedule.

The EU decision removes the main regulatory barrier that kept Kyrgyzstan-certified airlines out of the European market.

The EU will keep monitoring Kyrgyzstan’s aviation safety system. The regulation says Kyrgyzstan should report before each EU Air Safety Committee meeting. EU member states should also prioritize ramp inspections of air carriers certified in Kyrgyzstan. The Commission can impose new restrictions if new safety information shows an imminent risk.

TEHRAN, JUN 10: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out attacks against a US base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported.

The clashes mark one of the biggest exchanges in hostilities since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in April.

The Iranian strikes, which included attacks in Kuwait and Bahrain, came after the US military said on X it had targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the strait in response to what US President Donald Trump said was the downing of a US Apache helicopter on Tuesday.

“I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News on Tuesday.

The escalation in violence deepens doubts about the prospects for a deal to end the war that started on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran. Tehran responded by firing on Gulf neighbours that host US bases and all but choked off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil and gas.

The latest US strikes lasted around four hours before the US Central Command posted just before 9pm ET (0100 GMT Wednesday) that they had ended. A US official said almost 20 Iranian targets had been struck.

Iran’s state media reported that Qeshm island and the port city of Sirik in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.

Sounds of explosions were heard in nearby Bandar Abbas, and later in the vicinity of Jask, near the entrance to the strait, Iranian media reported, citing local sources and residents.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in response they had targeted four sites at the US al-Azraq base in Jordan using long-range missiles, Iranian media reported.

The Guards said the targets included F-35 fighter jet hangars and a command-and-control centre, and warned they were ready to deliver a “crushing and decisive” response to any further US attack.

Jordanian armed forces said on Wednesday they had intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran toward al-Azraq. The military added that debris from the interception operation fell on Jordanian territory but caused no injuries or material damage.

The Kuwaiti army said its air defence systems were engaging hostile aerial targets and urged the public to follow official safety instructions, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait with drones.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said earlier they attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones and threatened “more severe responses” if hostilities continued, according to media.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said a warning siren had been sounded and urged the public to head to safety. Air defences had repelled Iranian attacks, a media adviser to Bahrain’s king said soon after in a post on X.

In a statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned US strikes in the country’s south, saying Tehran acted in self-defence, and warned Gulf states they would face consequences if their territory was used by US or Israeli forces, vowing to target the sources of any future attacks.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial assessments showed nearly all missiles and drones launched by Iran were intercepted and they were not immediately aware of any reports of harm to US personnel or damage to US locations.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.

Oil prices climbed about 1% in early Asian trade on Wednesday following the escalation in hostilities.

Not a big deal?
On Tuesday, a US Apache helicopter was brought down by a one-way Iranian attack drone, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In this picture obtained from Irans ISNA news agency on June 1, 2026, Iranians sit on Suru Beach in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz. — AFP
In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency on June 1, 2026, Iranians sit on Suru Beach in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz. — AFP
Two US pilots involved in the helicopter incident were uninjured, Trump said.

Iran’s state media cited a military source as saying that no offensive air military operations had been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours.

A US Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew, the US military said, after the US Army attack helicopter went down in waters near Oman’s coast while on patrol at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday (2300 GMT on Monday).

The US military’s Central Command gave no reason for the crash. It said the two crew were rescued after two hours and said they were in stable condition – a more cautious assessment than Trump’s description.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did not directly address the helicopter incident, but said in a post on X that foreign forces in the region risked being involved in accidents or crossfire.

“To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave,” he wrote.

Trump told The Wall Street Journal during a phone call on Tuesday that the helicopter incident “wasn’t a big deal” and stressed that “the pilot is fine.”

However, the episode could well add further strain to efforts to broker a peace deal to end the wider Middle East war and reopen Hormuz.

Trump has repeatedly said Iran and the United States are close to an agreement, though there have been few signs of progress since a tenuous ceasefire took effect in early April.

Fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has continued, and Tehran has maintained its restrictions on most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that ship traffic through Hormuz is rising “very meaningfully,” but added it would take many months to get back to normal flows of energy once the war is over.

Trump has said any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. Iran denies any such ambitions.

Iran’s demands include the lifting of international sanctions, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and recognition of its control of the strait.