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Ministry revokes license of allegedly drunk pilot
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Citilink president director Albert Burhan (right) speaks to state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II general manager for Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Dec. 1, in front of a Citilink aircraft preparing to serve the airline's maiden flight from the city to Batam, Riau Islands. (Antara/Jessica Helena Wuysang)
T
he Transportation Ministry has revoked the license of a pilot who allegedly showed up to work drunk after receiving the results of his initial medical checkup.
"We have revoked his license permanently," Transportation Ministry director general for air transportation Suprasetyo said on Thursday.
Based on the medical checkup, including an interview and physical test conducted at the Flight Health Agency in Jakarta, the pilot was deemed unfit to fly, the official said.
Suprasetyo cited the fact that flight safety "was also about trust and we should prevent accidents from happening" as the main reason behind the license revocation.
(Read also: Citilink top executives resign after 'drunk pilot' incident)
The pilot, Capt. Tekad Purna, was previously dismissed from his job as a pilot for state-owned low-cost carrier Citilink, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.
The incident occurred on Dec. 28 as a Citilink flight prepared to depart from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, to Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. The flight was scheduled to take off at 5:15 a.m.
According to the Transportation Ministry’s report, passengers were initially baffled by an unclear announcement from the pilot, identified as Capt. Tekad Purna, raising suspicion that he was drunk.
Many passengers decided to disembark from the plane soon after, with nine of them deciding to cancel their flights.
Citilink soon replaced the captain with another pilot, and departed to Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta with around an hour delay.
Citilink president director Albert Burhan also lodged his resignation, along with operational director Hadinoto Soedigno, due to the incident. (bbn)
