Japan says Garuda's safety satisfactory

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 07/09/2007 11:04 AM  |  Business

Andi Haswidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Satisfied with the results of a safety audit on a Garuda Indonesia airplane, Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) announced last week that the carrier was allowed to operate in the country.

""We were so glad the moment we received the final results,"" said Garuda country manager for Japan, China, South Korea and the United States, Arif Wibowo, as quoted by Antara on Saturday.

The result adds to the debate over Garuda's safety standards. The airline was classified as unfit to fly by the European Commission and banned from traveling to the region, along with 50 other Indonesian airlines.

The ban, which came into effect on July 6, had no direct affect on Garuda as it had not resumed its Jakarta-Amsterdam flight, which stopped in 2004, but was regarded as damaging to Indonesia's tourism industry, as well as other sectors.

After a day-long audit Friday, the CAB inspection team concluded that Garuda was committed to complying with Japan's airline security and safety regulations.

The CAB said there was no reason for the Japanese government to ban its citizens from flying with Garuda.

Garuda has daily flights from to Tokyo via Denpasar and Jakarta and flies four times a week from Jakarta to Osaka.

Last year, 387,571 passengers flew on Garuda to Japan, while 157,183 have traveled on the same routes since the beginning of this year.

Garuda spokesperson Pudjobroto said the airline was planning to reopen its Nagoya route, which was closed in 2004 following the impact of the second Bali bombing on the travel industry.

""We are satisfied with what the CAB has done. This inspection has given back Garuda its confidence in operating in Japan,"" Garuda reservation coordinator for sales in Japan, Kemaru Okatomo said.

Transportation Ministry Director General for Air Transportation Budhi Mulyaman said he was thankful for the CAB's decision and added that the result would provide a boost to the government in its commitment to improving the country's aviation safety standards.

Japan is the second country to lend its support to the airline following Australia, which said earlier that Garuda complied with international safety standards.

The Australian Embassy in Jakarta said early last week that Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority had confirmed that a series of spot checks on Garuda this year had not identified any major problems.

Garuda has also received support from International Civil Aviation Organization president Robert Kobeh Gonzales, who said Indonesia was on the right track to improving its air safety standards and that the EU ban might have resulted from ""misinformation"".

The EU said Friday it would send a team of its own experts to Indonesia to assess the safety standards of Indonesian airlines.

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