Lawmakers debate empowerment of airline cabin crew

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Lawmakers from the House of Representatives transportation commission have pledged legal protection for airline cabin crew to help them play a greater role in ensuring safety and security.

"Airline cabin crew have been overlooked regarding their role, be it before or during a flight. We need a comprehensive law that will give them greater rights and increase their role in assisting passengers for increased safety and security," legislator Abdullah Azwar Anas from House Commission V told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

"We are still taking an inventory of all the problems ... We will include points on cabin crew precautionary measures against potential terrorist acts in the draft law (on aviation)," he said.

Anas' comments followed the recent ban imposed by the European Union on Indonesian airlines flying to Europe, which cited safety concerns.

Commission V is currently deliberating the aviation bill and is meeting with several key people in the industry.

"The articles (of the bill) have already laid out the foundation for safety, but they need improvement and further elaboration," said Anas, who is from the National Awakening Party.

Earlier, Garuda Indonesia Flight Attendants Union secretary-general Dewi Anggraini said attendants had to be focused more on professionalism, not just good looks.

"We need legal protection to (be able to) take assertive precautionary measures, such as tackling terrorists on board before they act," Dewi told a hearing with the commission Thursday.

Anas said cabin crew needed better legal protection in the areas of insurance and maximum working hours in order to allow them to take better care of passenger safety.

"On many local air carriers several crucial items have yet to be covered by (crew) insurance. Minor injuries, such as sprained ankles, are neglected here and there, but that's important," he said.

The trend toward local "no-frills" low-cost carriers should not mean abandoning the rights of the crew, he added.

"The number of Indonesian air travelers keeps increasing. But many of the passengers are still uneducated so the crew need to be more skillful."

Another commission member, Rendi Lamajido from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said the success of the civil aviation sector also depended on the performance of cabin crew.

"There should be a law regulating maximum working hours because this is related to (a crew's) overall well-being," he said. "The House thinks many airlines are able to make their crew work longer because there has yet to be a strict limitation on maximum hours worked."

Garuda Indonesia Cabin Crew Association (IKAGI) chairman Zainudin Malik said earlier that to improve safety, the amended aviation law should include rules on how a cabin crew should prioritize helping passengers in the event of an accident.

"There should be a sanctions if we fail to do it. Many countries have already adopted this practice," Malik said.