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EU maintains flight ban on Indonesian carriers
Indonesian airlines remain on the blacklist of carriers banned from flying across Europe, following the European Commission's finding that the nation's authorities are yet to develop and implement proper monitoring programs
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Indonesian airlines remain on the blacklist of carriers banned from flying across Europe, following the European Commission's finding that the nation's authorities are yet to develop and implement proper monitoring programs.
The commission and the Air Safety Committee, composed of representatives from all 27 member states, concluded Thursday that although the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority and the airlines had showed some improvements in air safety, several crucial elements were yet to meet standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Antonio Tajani, the EC vice president for transportation, said in a statement the biggest concern reported in the documentary evidence was the poor safety surveillance conducted by the authorities under its "Fast Track" program.
The program involves four carriers, Garuda Indonesia, Mandala, AirFast and Premi Air, and aims to improve inspection of the carriers.
These steps have only been taken recently.
"And no detailed information has been given regarding the surveillance of all other Indonesian air carriers in both areas of maintenance and flight operations," the statement said.
The EC first imposed a flight ban on all Indonesian carriers, forbidding them from entering the region, in July last year following a series of fatal accidents.
Comprehensive efforts have since been made to remedy the safety situation in order to meet the ICAO standards.
But those actions are apparently not considered good enough, said Budhi Suyitno, the Transportation Ministry's director general for air transportation, who acknowledged the commission's unanimous decision to extend the flight ban.
"What we have done to improve airline safety was deemed to be inadequate. But the audit conducted by the ICAO found we have met 61 percent of its total standards, mostly technical issues," he said.
Budhi said the country's carriers would all be removed from the EC's blacklist as soon as the government and the House of Representatives completed their deliberation of the air transportation bill, which contains the country's regulatory framework on air transportation.
Garuda spokesman Pudjobroto insisted the carrier had conducted the necessary measures to improve its airline safety in line with the required international standards.
"We presented all of our safety measures to the commission and ICAO. In addition, we have received a safety award from the International Air Transport Association, proving we have met the safety standard," he said.
Meanwhile, in a bid to improve the quality of services, Garuda Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean Air in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday.
Under the MoU, the two carriers will increase their seating capacity from 20 to 30 seats on flights between Denpasar and Seoul.
The two airlines will also increase the number of their domestic destinations as stated in the "Prorate Agreement", and implement "the interline e-ticket" system to provide better services for passengers.
Korean Air also plans to help Garuda join the global airline alliance Skyteam, which already has 13 member carriers flying to 841 cities in 162 countries. (ewd)
