EU halted Yemenia maintenance of European jets in Feb

PARIS, June 30 (Reuters) - The European Union suspended permission for Yemenia to maintain EU-registered planes in February after it failed a set of audit inspections, the EU's aviation safety agency told Reuters on Tuesday.

The move would not have affected the Airbus A310 plane which crashed off the Comoros islands on Tuesday since that aircraft was registered in Yemen. But it provides further evidence of European concerns over the airline's operations after the EU Commission said the plane which crashed had sparked an EU inquiry two years ago.

Yemen said its planes are thoroughly maintained.

The European Aviation Safety Agency, which is responsible for certifying maintenance operations outside the 27-nation bloc, granted Yemenia the right to maintain EU-registered aircraft in 2006 but suspended it in February this year, a spokeswoman said.

"These approvals are for maintenance organisations located outside the EU, allowing them to maintain aircraft registered in the EU," the spokeswoman for the Cologne-based agency said.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher)