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Luhut supports tough sanctions against Lion Air
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Lion Air planes parked outside Terminal 1 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on May 12. (kompas.com/Andri Donnal Putera)
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span style="line-height: 1.6em;">Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has agreed with the Transportation Ministry's tough sanctions against Lion Air following the airline's alleged mishandling of passengers last week.
Lion Air, the country's largest low-cost carrier, committed a serious violation by enabling its passengers to skip immigration checks when they arrived in Jakarta, Luhut said.
Therefore, the airline should be imposed with strict sanctions to the extent that existing laws allow, he added. "I don't compromise with parties who violate regulations or the prevailing laws," Luhut told journalists on Friday.
The Transportation Ministry has issued a suspension of Lion Air's ground-handling permit at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten.
It was issued following an incident on May 10 when a bus transporting 40 Lion Air passengers that had flown from from Singapore was directed to Terminal 1 for domestic flights instead of the international Terminal 2, hence allowing at least 16 passengers to skip immigration checks.
The ministry has also prohibited the airline from opening new routes for six months, saying that the sanctions were given to allow Lion Air time to improve its management.
However, Lion Air management has decided to take legal action by reporting the ministry's director general of air transportation Suprasetyo to the National Police on Monday for abuse of authority. Lion Air has also filed an official rejection letter with regard to the sanction. (bbn)
