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Airport operators to scrutinize cabin crew health
Airline cabin crew members will be subject to tighter scrutiny before flying as the government plans to implement additional medical checks to be carried out by airline operators
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irline cabin crew members will be subject to tighter scrutiny before flying as the government plans to implement additional medical checks to be carried out by airline operators.
The additional checkups will be made possible soon with the planned issuance of a Transportation Ministry regulation.
“We will assign airport operators to do a verification process. We will give them the authority to check the [cabin crew] and to forbid them [from flying],” he said recently, adding that the aviation sector was “full of safety risks”.
Budi acknowledged that his decision was also triggered by airlines that violated required standard operating procedures (SOP) for crew members’ medical checks, based on civil aviation safety regulations.
At present, such medical checkups are only carried out by the airlines for which cabin crew work. However, reports have emerged of on-duty pilots who were allegedly working under the influence.
A Citilink captain, Capt. Tekad Purna, was recently found to be in an unfit condition when preparing to fly an aircraft from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport just outside of Jakarta on Dec. 28.
His incoherent predeparture announcement baffled passengers, who suspected he was drunk and disembarked from the aircraft over safety concerns.
Tekad was also later reported to have showed up late, just minutes before departure, when passengers were already on the plane. He skipped a predeparture briefing and medical check.
A video that went viral online showed the pilot walking unsteadily through a security scanner, while airport security officers helped him pass through the gate and gather his belongings.
The video raised concerns about why the officers did not report or stop him.
On Jan. 11, two Susi Air pilots underwent a random urine check at Tunggul Wulung Airport in Cilacap, Central Java, with preliminary results indicating they had used drugs. They were flown to Jakarta to be assessed by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), with further results expected to come out this week.
“On that day, we did not carry out [a medical check on the pilot]. Usually there are tests on blood pressure and a urine test,” Susi Air commercial business and legal manager Irvino Samuel Moniaga told The Jakarta Post.
State airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II operational director Djoko Murjatmodjo said it would check on the behavior of crew members, in addition to monitoring dangerous goods.
“For example, if there is a crew member walking unsteadily like that day or who reeks of alcohol […] we will assist [them] and turn them over to the airline. At least it will mean AP has helped warn [the airline] that there is a problem,” he said.
AP II — which manages 13 airports such as Soekarno-Hatta and Kualanamu International Airport in North Sumatra — will install CCTV to monitor whether airlines truly conduct flight operation briefings for their crews.
The country’s largest low-cost carrier Lion Air stated that the airline would comply with the upcoming regulation, including by recruiting professional medical personnel for crew checks. Lion Air operational director Daniel Putut said its current medical checks were performed by its own staff.
