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Lion Air denies inappropriate in-flight conduct
Pre-flight checks: A Lion Air aircraft parked on the tarmac at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on August
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Pre-flight checks: A Lion Air aircraft parked on the tarmac at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on August. 19. (Kompas.com/Yoga Sukmana) (Kompas.com/Yoga Sukmana)
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span class="caption">Pre-flight checks: A Lion Air aircraft parked on the tarmac at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on August. 19. (Kompas.com/Yoga Sukmana)
Indonesia's biggest budget carrier Lion Air has denied claims that one of its co-pilots made inappropriate comments over a plane's PA system on a commercial flight.
Lion Air general director Edward Sirait said on Wednesday that the management had run an internal investigation after receiving reports regarding flight JT990 from Surabaya to Denpasar on Nov. 14.
A passenger named Lambertus Maengkom reported feeling uncomfortable when, as local media reported, he heard the pilot offer a widowed stewardess to passengers over the speakers.
Passengers also reported hearing moaning from the speakers as the airplane took off from Denpasar.
"Nobody offered a widowed woman. The stewardess is single," Edward said as quoted by newsportal kompas.com on Wednesday.
Edward explained that what really happened was the co-pilot wished the stewardess a happy birthday on the microphone and it was heard by passengers in the cabin. The co-pilot also said the stewardess was single and looking forward to getting married.
"So, it was a surprise [and] it violated announcement procedures and ethics," he said declining to give details on the co-pilot's identity.
Edward also denied that moaning sounds came from the cockpit. Pilots and co-pilots would not be speaking through microphones, he claimed, because they need to communicate with airport tower officials. The co-pilot may have been speaking too close to the microphone, which may have sounded like he was moaning, he suggested.
For his conduct, Lion Air has suspended the co-pilot for two weeks.
"It is not a serious violation that put passengers at risk. This is an ethical issue," he said.
With its ambitious expansion plans, the airline had been the center of attention recently. The owner, Rusdi Kirana, made a multi-billion dollar deal to buy hundreds of aircraft from major manufacturers Boeing and Airbus.
Lion Air has also faced negative publicity, with some of its pilots caught with illicit drugs in 2012 as well as several minor accidents, including an aircraft crashing into the Bali Sea in 2013, though no lives were lost.
The airline was also the target of a mass protest following three-day delays at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in February. (rin)
