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.
An ASEAN airlines association is needed to ensure safety: Air Asia
Change Size
Passengers arrive at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, on April 4. During a seminar to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of The Jakarta Post on April 25, Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes called on airline companies within ASEAN to establish a regional association to protect and ensure the safety aspects of the industry ahead of the ASEAN open sky policy. (ANTARA FOTO/Sigid Kurniawan)
A
SEAN airline companies should establish a regional association to protect and ensure the safety aspects of the industry ahead of ASEAN open sky policy, Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes has said.
Tony called for an integrated institution in ASEAN to ensure the cross-border aviation safety regulation, formed either by government or ASEAN airline companies.
“I think there should be one integrated institution on aviation safety,” he said during the 33rd anniversary of The Jakarta Post on Monday in Jakarta.
The multilateral agreement is aimed at uniting ASEAN skies into a single aviation market and should liberalize the rules regarding customs and cargo to increase the flow of goods and people in the region.
Indonesia has already confirmed that they will join the pact by issuing a presidential regulation last week.
“The scariest part is the non-tariff barrier as it will make competition increasingly tough. Regulators have to ensure the safety of the passengers and, at the same time, protect the players,” Tony said.
Currently there is no association of ASEAN airlines except for flag carrier airlines such as Garuda Indonesia and Malaysia Airlines. The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), headquartered in Kuala Lumpur with 16 members, does not include low cost carriers such as Air Asia.
“I have talked with Tony during the discussion. The creation of an ASEAN airlines association is a good idea. It is not a cartel but a way to protect the common interests among the countries and its airlines,” Garuda Indonesia President Director Arif Wibowo told thejakartapost.com. (ags)
