TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
EU ban: Colonial mindset
It is undeniable that Indonesia's aviation industry is in a bad condition
Change Size
It is undeniable that Indonesia's aviation industry is in a bad condition. The accidents which have occurred in the last five years have exceeded acceptable standards. In almost every airline there are deficiencies that are principle in nature.
A lack of discipline, lax licensing restrictions, sloppy management and enforcement of rules, poor education and training within the industry, unauthorized tariffs and the non-existence of a "reward/punishment" system have all contributed to this dire situation.
Inevitably, because of its international nature, the Indonesian aviation situation attracted the attention of the rest of the world. The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) downgraded Indonesia's national aviation level. Meanwhile, Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and others undertook their own "clarification" and "auditing" of Indonesia's aviation industry.
In 2007, the government took affirmative steps to remedy this by setting up the National Transportation Safety and Security Evaluation Team (KNKT), and changed key personnel including the Transport Minister, Director General of Civil Aviation and others.
These changes sent shockwaves through the industry as players struggled to raise safety levels to meet the "international standard" (in this case the ICAO regulation).
Recently, a ban was issued by the European Union (July 2007 to be precise). Out of the blue, the European Union banned all Indonesian airlines from entering the European continent, but before conducting any independent audits.
In making its decision, the EU reportedly referred to ICAO findings. However ICAO had not put a "ban" in place themselves, but rather had (sympathetically) offered help and assistance for Indonesia to overcome its safety predicament.
The EU arrogantly stated that Indonesia's aviation standards did not meet its own, and to protect its people it would prohibit Europeans from using Indonesian airlines and forbid any Indonesian airlines from entering Europe.
This was a truly unsympathetic act made by a few individuals in the European Union aviation commission. Indonesian airlines are not allowed to fly to Europe, but European airlines still fly to Indonesia and enter Indonesia's airspace -- which according to the European Union is unsafe. What is going on in their heads?
From the beginning, it was explicitly stated the ban was technical in nature. The EU asked Indonesia not to attempt to get around it with other methods (i.e. by lobbying or diplomatic routes) but with technical improvements. However, "technical" in this case refers to nothing less than a series of activities which must be conducted under the direct supervision of the European Union and evaluated every three months.
Thus Indonesia became the European Union's puppet -- a once-every-three-months toy that nearly served up a free spectacle for the international aviation scene. Truly, these were actions that have shamed Indonesia.
We can't deny there is a lot of "housekeeping" that needs to be done in order to raise the safety standards of our aviation industry, but the European Union should not have acted in such an unwise and uneducated manner.
This situation is truly mind-boggling. For example, if an Indonesian airline bought an Airbus (made in Europe) from France. After completing standard procedures, the plane is registered with a "PK" (official international registration for Indonesian aircraft), and immediately the aircraft is not allowed to enter European airspace. Once again, if Indonesia is deemed to be unsafe and Indonesian airlines are not allowed to enter Europe, how is it that European aircraft are allowed to travel to and from Indonesia every day?
And every day, European aircraft pass through Indonesian airspace (managed by the Indonesian Aviation Authority) to reach Australia and New Zealand. Didn't you say that the Indonesian Aviation Authority does not meet Europe's safety standards?
This is typical of a "colonial mindset", which regards the relationship from a "Master and Slave" perspective. There is no mutual respect, no mutual trust and of course no mutual benefit at all.
In facing this problem, the one and only way for Indonesia to respond is just to say, "Go to hell with your Ban!"
The writer is retired Air Chief Marshal Chappy Hakim and former chairman of the National Team for the Evaluation of Transportation Safety and Security.
