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Self-imposed suspension of 227 flights unrelated to sanction: Lion Air
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Lion Air president director Edward Sirait speaks to journalists after a hearing at House of Representatives Commission V overseeing transportation in Jakarta on Tuesday. (thejakartapost.com/Anton Hermansyah)
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decision to suspend 227 flights from May 18 to June 18 of its own volition is a purely corporate move, says a Lion Air executive, insisting that no tickets will be issued for suspended flights during the period.
On May 16, the biggest low-cost carrier in Indonesia — owned by National Awakening Party politician Rusdi Kirana, who is also a member of the Presidential Advisory Board (Wantimpres) — submitted a request to the Transportation Ministry for a self-imposed suspension.
Lion Air president director Edward Sirait refuted speculation that the suspension was Lion’s response to a government sanction that hit the airline on May 10 in relation to widespread delays caused by a pilot strike.
"We are carrying it out according to plan, not based on a hasty reaction. Two weeks before Ramadhan, the flight occupancy usually drops by 40 percent. Then, it is not economical for us to assume full operation," he said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Lion Air director Daniel Putut Kuncoro Adi explained that the purpose of the request letter was to prevent permanent suspensions on the routes, as a 2016 ministerial regulation obliges all airlines to operate seven days a week.
"Therefore, we need to send a request letter to the government, or else the entire route will be halted," he told thejakartapost.com.
Edward added that the carrier did not intend to stop servicing the routes, but simply wanted to decrease the frequency of flights. He pointed out that flights from Jakarta to Medan were not totally suspended, but reduced from 20 flights to 15 flights during the period.
"You can check for yourself. We stopped selling tickets for the flight slots some time ago, thus nobody bought them or asked for refunds afterward," Edward explained. (ags)
