Europe Lifts Ban on Four Indonesian Airlines

Jakarta Globe, Laila Ramdhini, Jun 30, 2015

Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is among four Indonesian airlines to pass an
audit allowing them to provide flights into the Eropean Union. (Antara Photo/
Dewi Fajriani)

Jakarta. Four Indonesian airlines have passed the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program administered by the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, which now allows the companies’ aircrafts to enter European Union territory, a Transportation Ministry official announced on Monday.

“Garuda [Indonesia], Indonesia AirAsia, Premi Air and Airfast passed the audit after we sent the corrective action plan to Montreal [Canada],” said Muzaffar Ismail, director of airworthiness and flight operations at the Transportation Ministry.

Indonesian commercial aircrafts have been banned from entering the European Union territory since 2014 after failing to comply with a previous audit conducted by ICAO. The EU also based its ban on the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assessment, which placed the archipelago in Category II. The rating prohibits carriers from transporting passengers to and from the United states.

“The European Union was concerned about whether [Indonesia] could pass the ICAO’s audit. In fact, we could, with four airlines,” he said, adding that Indonesia complied with 81.5 percent of the requirements needed to fulfill the aviation agency’s corrective action plan.

The ministry will appeal for the lift of a similar ban on Citilink Indonesia, Lion Air and Indonesia Air Asia X at a European Aviation Safety Agency event in November.

“We are confident making this request to the European Union. Even though not every Indonesian airline offers flights to Europe, but the right to land in Europe will have a great impact on Indonesia’s image to the international public,” he added.

GlobeAsia

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