(SOFIA) - Bulgaria's transport ministry confirmed Friday that it had banned five of its cargo carriers from flying to the European Union to keep other Bulgarian airlines off a European security blacklist.

"The Bulgarian authorities decided on February 21 to ban five cargo carriers -- Air Sofia, Heli Air, Scorpion Air, Vega Airlines, and Bright Aviation -- from operating in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland," the transport ministry said in a statement.

"As a result, no Bulgarian airline company, passenger or cargo, will be placed on the upcoming EU airline blacklist," it added.

EU sources in Brussels had earlier announced the ban.

The five companies, which flew mainly Russian An-12 and An-26 cargo planes, had been targeted by EU investigations into their air worthiness.

They faced the dubious distinction of becoming the first EU airlines to be put on the blacklist, which either bans carriers from flying in the bloc or imposes restrictions.

EU aviation experts meeting in Brussels decided the Bulgarian companies should be monitored and could yet be put on the EU blacklist if they do not make progress, EU officials said.

Bulgaria, which joined the EU in January, is subject to air traffic restrictions because of security problems in the country's civil aviation system.

In February, the Civil Aviation Authority already took off its fleet register some 160 Russian-built planes and helicopters that failed to meet the European Union's flying capability requirements.

Bulgaria's airlines are currently treated as coming from a non-EU country and denied unrestricted access to routes within the community.

But those that stay off the blacklist can still fly between Bulgaria and European cities.

Meanwhile, the EU is to keep a close eye on nine Russian carriers, including those owned by gas giant Gazprom and oil group Lukoil, which Russia forbade from making flights to the EU on February 16 because of security reasons.

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