An Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-200. REUTERS/Enny Nuraheni In 2007, all Indonesian airlines were banned from flying to the European Union.

Among them was Indonesia AirAsia, whose flight QZ 8501 apparently crashed on Sunday.

The EU was concerned about the safety record of Indonesian carriers.

The ban was lifted in 2010 for Indonesia AirAsia.

But of the 51 Indonesian carriers banned, only four (including Indonesia AirAsia) have been re-authorized to fly to the EU.

Indonesia's aviation market is expanding at a rate of 21% annually, but a series of accidents, including the crash of a Lion Air flight in Bali in 2013, indicate a weak safety record for the nation's airlines.

The Federal Aviation Administration does not rate, rank, or blacklist airlines, but it 2013 it assessed the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil aviation "as not being in compliance" with international safety standards.

[An earlier version of this post was written by Alex Davies.]