Indonesian Airline Alert
Once again, bad news hits this unfortunatle country
Flight warnings against Indonesian Airlines from The United States is a setback for Garuda Airline.
The tragedies that have befallen Indonesia recently, terrorist bombings on the island of Bali, the tsunami, flooding and eruptions, have been random and of nature's doing, and the whole world sympathised. We thought there could be nothing more to block the country's recovery.
But now comes another set-back. The United States has now issued an official warning for its own citizens against flying on any Indonesian airline. Folloowing a spate of air incidents this year , and most especially the crash of the Garuda Airlines at Yogakarta which killed 21 people, including five Australians, it has been felt necessary to deliver the warning that perhaps Indonesian Airlines do not meet international safety standards.
The US Embassy 's website in Jakarta has been updated and now reads: "Whenever possible, Americans travelling to and from Indonesia should fly directly to their destinations on International carriers whose civil aviation authorities meet international aviation safety standards".
The USA FAA last Monday, April 16th, downgraded Indonesia's safety oversight to a Category 2 because of "serious concerns" about the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation's safety oversight and operational control systems. This comes on the heels of the downgrading by Australia which is already having an effect on operations. Australia had also found that no Indonesian airline met the "minumum civil aviation safety standards".
Followin these two announcements, Indonesian Transportation Minister, Hatta Radjasa, has just announced a wide-ranging revamp of the country's aviation sector. He has also made a promise that any airline that doesn't bring itselt up to meet minimum standards within three months will lose their rating.
Further measures include removing a roadway and embankment at Yogakarta which, it ihas been presumed, contributed to the Garuda flight GA200 717 crash and subsequent fire, last month.
Garuda Airlines has come back with the retort that this warning is giving a false report to the travel trade, and that indeed, under a recent assessemnt by the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Garuda was actually awarded a Category 2 certificate. It further stated that only those airlines in the lower category (category 3) failed to meet some requirements which may affect safety.
Garuda Airlines as an International Airline and a member of Iata has a duty to ensure that its safety practices comply with those laid down by International committees. It is to be hoped that the airline will soon sort this problem out and be re-instated by the USA and Australia as a safe carrier.
Passenger safety must always come first and if they are found to be lax in this respect, the national airline will not only lose customers which it can ill afford, but its reputation. Once an airline loses its good name, it takes a long time to recover - witness Aeroflot.
