Indonesia asks Saudi Arabia to audit airlines

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Transportation Ministry has invited Saudi Arabia to audit the safety standards of Indonesian airlines following its announcement of plans to adopt a European Union ban on all Indonesian airlines.

"Saudi Arabia wants assurance that the kingdom is doing the right thing by adopting the EU ban," Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang S. Ervan said Tuesday.

"To convince them (otherwise), we have invited Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to do their own audit here."

The Transportation Ministry received Monday a letter from the GACA signed on Sunday by GACA vice president of safety and regulation Mohammed R. Berenji stating that the kingdom planned to adopt the EU ban, and not that it had already banned all Indonesian airlines from entering Saudi Arabia as reported by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Bambang also said that Saudi Arabia frequently used EU decisions as a reference point, but that "didn't mean (they adopted) all of the EU's policies".

The ban on all Indonesian airlines from entering EU territory took effect on July 6 even though no Indonesian airline currently serves European routes.

Legislator Abdullah Aswar Anas from the House of Representatives' Commission V overseeing transportation affairs, told the Post that the commission members would ask the transportation minister about the issue at their next meeting.

Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pujobroto told the Post that the airline supported the government's plan.

"What they want is to have a dialogue and clarify with the Indonesian government about the safety of Indonesian airlines."

Garuda Indonesia is the only Indonesian airline with routes to Saudi Arabia. Pudjobroto said the airline flew to Jeddah five times a week and to Riyadh three times a week.

Japan and South Korea have recently conducted spot checks on Garuda Indonesia airplanes flying to both countries and declared them safe.

Visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark may give a much needed boost to Indonesian airlines as she will fly on a Garuda Indonesia flight to Yogyakarta from Jakarta this week.

Meanwhile, Bambang said that the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group (ATWG) had invited EU representatives to attend the group's working meeting in Denpasar from July 17 to 20 to discuss issues on Indonesian airline safety.

"We will elaborate on the travel ban and the improvement of local airline safety further with the EU, which is the group's special guest at the meeting," he said.

ATWG will also discuss several civil aviation issues, such as an open-sky policy and multilateral agreements between airlines. The group has also invited partners from outside the region, from India, Japan and the U.S.