New air transport chief says safety top priority

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The new air transportation chief has vowed there will be tough consequences for airlines disregarding safety procedures.

Budhi Muliawan Suyitno, appointed director general for air transportation on Tuesday, said he would rank the safety standards of all airlines in Indonesia.

"We will suspend airlines at the bottom of the list," he said.

Budhi replaced M. Ikhsan in a recent shake-up at the Transportation Ministry after a series of transportation accidents this year. He was previously the ministry's inspector general, a role which Ikhsan now assumes.

Budhi was transportation minister for three months during the administration of president Abdurrahman Wahid.

In addition to ranking the safety standards of airlines, Budhi said he would improve national air transportation safety awareness and upgrade human resources in the regulatory body.

Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa said the reason behind the reshuffle at the ministry was to maximize the performance of officials.

The increase in the number of air passengers in Indonesia should be accompanied by improvements in safety standards, he added.

"Regaining the trust of people regarding air transportation is important," Hatta said.

He said both regulators and operators were obliged to follow recommendations from the National Team for the Evaluation of Transportation Safety and Security.

"The new director general should be given a chance to facilitate significant change. We still have ample room for improvement," team spokesman Oetarjo Diran told The Jakarta Post.

He said that improvements should be made concerning weak regulations, outdated technology and poorly trained human resources.

"Saving lives is the highest priority in the transportation industry. It's more important than saving dollars."

The team, which collected data from local airlines, the Transportation Ministry and state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura, reported their findings on the aviation industry to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday.

"We will present recommendations on other forms of transportation next week," Diran added.

Meanwhile, air traffic control and navigation services will be handled by a single operator, according to Transportation Ministry plans.

Air traffic and navigation services are currently run by different operators. State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I is responsible for large airports in eastern Indonesia, PT Angkasa Pura II for western Indonesia and the Transportation Ministry for smaller airports.

Airworthiness certification director Yurlis Hasibuan said the type of organization to be responsible for air traffic control and navigation had yet to be determined.

"It could be a state-owned company or a public service board," he said during a two-day aviation safety seminar.

Hideo Watanabe, an expert from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, said that investigators in the National Transportation Safety Committee required further training.

Watanabe said training for investigators was important as their findings would be used to improve safety regulations.