[jkulubya]

Yeah, we’re gonna have to agree to disagree.

Do I personally think that the 2x fuel imbalance is a problem? Nope, I’d happily get on that plane

Could this situation become a safety issue? Yes it could.

Is it possible that there’s more to this situation than safety? Yeah, probably. Maybe they want shiny new planes on the route. But also, the passengers are paying customers with consumer rights - these are being enforced

Are the Ghanaian authorities not a sane regulator? I’ve got no reason to believe they aren’t being proper regulators. There is a possible safety issue that’s well within their mandate.

What happens when you’re dealing with regulators is if you’ve got a good relationship with them, then all the optional stuff (and some of the mandatory stuff) is optional. If not, then you’re gonna have to check every single box and then some. See Boeing in the US vs Europe.

Call it politics, call it whatever but it is what it is

[DocTomoe]

Given how important fuel balance is to trimming the aircraft, I would not board an aircraft that has a history of problems with this.

> See Boeing in the US vs Europe. Call it politics, call it whatever but it is what it is

What you call "good relationship", I call corruption and murder. If Ghanan authorities are fighting against that, more power to them.

[inferiorhuman]

  I would not board an aircraft that has a history of problems with this.

Which aircraft would that be? The article describes one (yes, just one) instance of a fuel imbalance leading the crew to return to the departure airport. The reasons for the other diversions are not articulated.

FWIW your EU list shows restricted airlines not individual frames. At the end there are two airlines (Iran Air and Air Koryo) where subsets of their fleets are restricted (whole types not individual frames). With Iran Air it's likely that the restricted types are ones where sanctions make maintenance or safety compliance impossible. With Air Koryo the EU banned a bunch of unpopular Russian and Soviet types that are either way too noisy, incapable of meeting current safety standards, or are unsupported by the Russians.