Airline bans a temporary setback, says official

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The ban on all Indonesian airlines by the European Commission is a temporary setback for the country's aviation sector, but a necessary one should Indonesia wish to improve its air safety record, an official says.

On July 6, the European Commission (EC) banned all Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe due to distrust caused by the country's poor aviation safety record.

"The international public will appreciate our efforts to be open about our airline safety problems," director general for air transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Budhi M. Suyitno, told reporters during a break in a meeting with the House of Representatives Commission V for transportation affairs on Monday.

The EC declared the ban after the government announced the results of an audit of 20 domestic airlines in March. The audit showed that not one domestic airline was in full compliance with safety regulations at that time.

However, a second audit in June found Garuda Indonesia to be fully compliant with international aviation safety regulations.

The Indonesian government said it regretted the EC's decision and that the ban was unfair because the commission did not send a team to clarify the findings or give the Indonesian government a chance to explain its position.

"We are disappointed with this decision. Actually, if the commission had given us a chance to talk about this matter, they would not have banned the Indonesian airlines," Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal told reporters after the meeting.

He added that his ministry had designed several programs to improve the quality of air transportation, which would include upgrading airport facilities.

The ministry is proposing a Rp 15.5 trillion (US$1.72 billion) budget for 2008, a 50 percent increase from Rp 10.5 trillion, to build better facilities for airports, including air and land infrastructure, flight surveillance radars and flight communication, navigational and landing assistance tools.

Most House members have blamed the ban on the government's decision to announce the results of the airlines' audit to the public, insisting it has "boomeranged" on the Indonesian government.

"It's the government itself who caused this problem," Enggartiasto Lukita from the Golkar Party said.

He said that when it comes to aviation, there can be no compromise on safety standards, and reiterated the House's stance that the government should not have announced the airlines' audit results.

"It is the routine inspection which matters the most," he said.

Sumaryoto from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said it was the right move for the government to audit the nation's airlines, but not to announce the results.

"The results of the audit should have been used as input for the airlines, the result should not have been made public," he said.

He said the European ban could have both political and economic impacts on Indonesia.

The ban will likely also have an impact on Indonesia's tourism sector, despite there having been no flights linking Indonesia with European Union cities since Garuda canceled services to Amsterdam in 2004.

Between 600,000 and 800,000 European tourists visit the country every year.