EU Prohibits 6 Kazakh Airlines From Airspace

Cites safety, won't say if Borat mockery lies behind ban
By Ambreen Ali,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 8, 2009 12:03 PM CDT
EU Prohibits 6 Kazakh Airlines From Airspace
Borat Sagdiyev, played by British comedian Sacha Cohen, greets fans at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards after deplaning from "Air Kazakh" as part of a skit on airline safety.   (AP Photo)

The European Union has banned six Kazakh airlines from its airspace, citing safety reasons, the Guardian reports today. No specific reason was given, though perhaps comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s skit about Borat flying on “Air Kazakh”—a rickety plane with a drunken one-eyed pilot—may have finally hit Brussels. The blacklisting could hurt Kazakhstan’s tourism industry, which boomed after the 2006 release of Cohen’s film. (More airline safety stories.)

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