5 August 2007 , Habib Shaikh
JEDDAH — Garuda Indonesia will not be banned from flying into Saudi Arabia, according to official sources in Jakarta.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia was considering a ban on the airline following a similar ban enforced by the European Union.
The US Federal Aviation Authority had decided in April to downgrade Indonesia’s safety rating that amounted to a de facto ban. No Indonesian carrier currently flies to either Europe or the United States.
The ban came in the wake of two major air disasters in the Asian archipelago since the beginning of the year. The Kingdom put off the ban plan pending the visit of a team of experts to Jakarta for a review and inspection of its facilities and operations.
A six-member team of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia had inspected all of Garuda’s facilities, operations and training centres and expressed satisfaction over the safety standards.
The Saudi team comprised Capt. Berenji, and was accompanied by Babang Sudaryono, Jeddah-based communication attache at the Consulate General of Indonesia.
“Saudi Arabia will not ban or restrict Garuda from flying to that country, whether regular or Haj flights,” Indonesian Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal told the media in Jakarta on Friday. Garuda operates eight flights a week from Jakarta to Jeddah, of which three are via Riyadh. It has planned up to 60 extra flights between June and September to transport Umrah pilgrims.
The carrier is planning to fly 210,000 Haj pilgrims this year. After years in the red, Garuda has posted a net profit of $15.93 million in the first half of this year. According to Garuda Executive Vice President Agus Priyanto, the airline’s revenues are expected to further increase in the second half as more passengers will fly during the year-end holiday season.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
No ban on Garuda flights to Saudi (Khaleej Time Online)
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Garuda Indonesia Posts 1H Net Profit, Garuda Indonesia Reports Half-Year Net Profit of $15.898 Million
August 2/2007
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- National carrier Garuda Indonesia said Thursday it booked a half-year net profit of US$15.898 million (euro11.6 million), swinging from a US$38.786 million (euro28.3 million) loss a year earlier.ADVERTISEMENT Chief Executive Emirsyah Satar said Garuda's efforts to improve its performance, such as restructuring routes, contributed to its financial turnaround.
Passenger numbers grew 8 percent to 4.3 million during the January-June period from a year earlier, Satar said.
He said Garuda's load factor improved to 76 percent from 70 percent last year, while the number of revenue-generating domestic routes increased to 26 from only seven last year.
Meanwhile, Satar said the airline was optimistic that it would not be banned from flying to Saudi Arabia.
A team from the Saudi civil aviation authority is in Indonesia to verify Garuda's safety standards, following the European Commission's recent decision to ban all Indonesian commercial carriers from flying to the region on safety grounds.
Saudi Arabia uses the E.U.'s aviation policy as a reference but has not banned Indonesian airlines yet.
"I have met with them and they said that they are satisfied," Satar said. "Garuda is judged to have met international aviation standards."
The state-owned Garuda is the only local airliner that flies to Saudi Arabia, carrying about 200,000 Muslims every year to that country for the Haj pilgrimage.
The company has appealed to the E.U. to lift the ban, claiming the airline complies with international aviation safety standards.
Garuda lifted by Saudi Arabian all-clear (The Financial Times)
Published: August 2 2007 17:18 Last updated: August 2 2007 17:18
Garuda Indonesia, the national carrier, on Thursday welcomed a decision by Saudi Arabia not to adopt a European Union ban on Indonesian airlines and said this year would see its first profit since 2003.
The EU last month banned all Indonesian airlines from flying to its 27 member countries, citing poor airline safety and regulatory supervision standards following two crashes. Saudi Arabia usually follows EU transport commission rulings but, after Indonesian lobbying, decided to investigate first.
Jusman Djamal, Indonesia’s transport minister, on Thursday said an audit team from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation had declared Garuda fit to fly to the kingdom.
Garuda does not fly to Europe, so is not directly affected by the EU move, but it flies 300,000 people to Saudi Arabia each year.
The airline on Thursday announced a first-half net profit of Rp148bn ($16m) compared with a loss of Rp361bn in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased to $570m from $494m, while the load factor rose to 76 per cent from 70 per cent and the revenue per seat per kilometre flown rose 8 per cent to 7.2 US cents.
Garuda lost Rp800bn in 2004, Rp688bn in 2005 and Rp197bn in 2006. Mr Emirsyah insisted this year’s figure would be a profit.
The airline has debts of $640m and it has failed to reach a restructuring agreement with European export credit agencies, its large creditors.
Alex Maneklaran, finance director, said he hoped an agreement would be struck this year. Garuda also intended to sell several non-core assets such as buildings and land as part of its cost-cutting programme, he said.
The Indonesian government, which owns Garuda, has promised to inject Rp1,000bn to prop up the company. It has disbursed half of that but Mr Maneklaran said the money had been allocated to debt refinancing.
This year the government said it would sell up to 49 per cent of the company but that has been postponed until the debts have been refinanced.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Airline woes for Indo tourism (The Bruinei Times)
31/07/07
Dewi Kurniawati
JAKARTA 30-Jul-07AS THE country reels under economic, political and environmental troubles, Indonesia has a new burden to shoulder: an airlines' ban that has a direct impact on its tourism.
The European Union officially banned all 51 Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe starting on July 6, while the US Federal Aviation Administration in April declared Indonesia had failed to comply with international safety standards.
Indonesia's air-safety record has been under fire following two commercial airline crashes that killed 123 people this year alone. EU's Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said the blacklist is considered an important tool in preventing unsafe airlines from flying to Europe and in informing passengers worldwide of safety problems.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono immediately expressed disappointment at the ban, calling it "the EU's unilateral action," and demanding more room for dialogue.Although government officials downplayed the impact, the EU's ban has already begun hurting tourism. "EU's airline ban has definitely put a burden on Indonesian tourism, especially now that it's the summer high-season for tourist arrivals," Bali Tourism Board chairman Ngurah Wijaya said.
"I know many tourists have cancelled their visits.
Indonesia has set a target of 6 million foreign visitors for this year and 8 million in 2009 nationwide.
The country had missed its tourist-arrival target of 5.5 million in 2006, registering 4.8 million foreign visitors for the year.
To help sweeten the package for foreigners, the government has allowed the citizens of 63 countries to be granted visas on arrival in the archipelago nation.
But the EU contributes about 25 per cent of tourist to the resort island of Bali alone, with as many as 600,000 European tourists visiting the country each year. Since Bali has an international airport facility, tourists who already planned their holiday before the ban took effect may yet fly to Bali with other airlines via Singapore.
"But it will definitely hurt other parts of Indonesia's tourism spots like Yogyakarta, Borneo and Sulawesi island, as tourists then have to take domestic flights," Wijaya said. DPA
EU ban on Indonesian airlines hurting tourism industry (Earth Times)
31/07/07
Jakarta - As the country reels under economic, political and environmental troubles, Indonesia has a new burden to shoulder: an airlines' ban that has a direct impact on its tourism.
The European Union officially banned all 51 Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe starting on July 6, while the US Federal Aviation Administration in April declared Indonesia had failed to comply with international safety standards.
Indonesia has dozens of low-cost airlines following the deregulation of the industry in the late 1990s, leading to a quadrupling of passenger numbers over the past seven years. But its air-safety record has been under fire following two commercial airline crashes that killed 123 people this year alone.
EU's Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said the blacklist is considered an important tool in preventing unsafe airlines from flying to Europe and in informing passengers worldwide of safety problems. "Honestly, the blacklist itself is not surprising since we have had many airline accidents recently," Indonesian Transport Ministry director general for aviation Budi Mulyawan Suyitno said. "Although there is no direct impact - because no Indonesian airlines have been flying to Europe since 2004 - we will improve our safety measures for Indonesian airlines," he said. Even so, the Indonesian government had earlier ignored two letters of inquiry the EU sent to the transport ministry, before it decided to blacklist the country's airlines.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono immediately expressed disappointment at the ban, calling it "the European Union's unilateral action," and demanding more room for dialogue. Transport Minister Jusman Djamal mulled a tit-for-tat action by hinting at the option of restricting access to its airspace for EU planes, or of advising its citizens not to fly with European airlines.
But the latter invitation is likely to fall on deaf ears, as many polls conducted by local media show that most Indonesians are in fact worried about flying with their national airlines due to their poor safety records. "I demand the government improve the quality and safety of our transportation immediately," Laksmindra Setyawati, 30, an employee with an international NGO in Jakarta said. Although government officials downplayed the impact, the EU's ban has already begun hurting tourism. "European Union's airline ban has definitely put a burden on Indonesian tourism, especially now that it's the summer high-season for tourist arrivals," Bali Tourism Board chairman Ngurah Wijaya said. "I know many tourists have cancelled their visits. "It will not only effect tourist arrivals, but will also hurt Indonesia's economy, because it will decrease hotel occupancy rates, souvenir sales, and other things related to tourism," Wijaya said. Indonesia has set a target of 6 million foreign visitors for this year and 8 million in 2009 nationwide.
The country had missed its tourist-arrival target of 5.5 million in 2006, registering 4.8 million foreign visitors for the year. To help sweeten the package for foreigners, the government has allowed the citizens of 63 countries to be granted visas on arrival in the archipelago nation. But the European Union contributes about 25 per cent of tourist to the resort island of Bali alone, with as many as 600,000 European tourists visiting the country each year. "European tourists are in fact important to Indonesian tourism," Wijaya said. He explained that since Bali has an international airport facility, tourists who already planned their holiday before the ban took effect may yet fly to Bali with other airlines via Singapore. "But it will definitely hurt other parts of Indonesia's tourism spots like Yogyakarta, Borneo and Sulawesi island, since tourists then have to take domestic flights," Wijaya said. Indonesia's efforts to improve air safety following a string of accidents and near-misses has so far resulted in revoking licenses of four airlines and suspending five others for failing to comply with basic standards in late June.
Earlier this month, Indonesia signed a joint declaration with International Civil Aviation Organization pledging to improve safety, restructure and strengthen the supervisory capacity of the air transport directorate-general, and meet international standards. "Our country's tourism image has been damaged by strings of terrorist attacks, natural disasters and diseases such as bird flu, we can't afford to lose more tourists by this airlines ban," Wijaya said. "We can't just provide excuses anymore, it is a fact that our image is terrible, we need to do something about it before other countries follow EU's ban," he said.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Ministry cleared Jetstar to land, will not investigate incident (The Jakarta Post, Jakarta)
26/07/07
Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo,
The Transportation Ministry said Tuesday it had issued a clearance for the Australian airline Jetstar to make its emergency landing in Bali after the plane suffered engine failure on its flight from Bangkok to Melbourne.
The ministry said it did not need to investigate the incident.
"According to the International Air Transport Association convention, we need to assist an international carrier that needs to make an emergency landing here," Director General of Air Transport at the Transportation Ministry, Budhi M. Suyitno, told The Jakarta Post.
The engine failure prompted the Airbus A330-200, carrying 302 passengers and 12 crew members, to land at the Ngurah Rai Airport just outside Bali's provincial capital of Denpasar early Monday.
The airplane was flying in Indonesian airspace when one of its two engines experienced problems.
Jetstar is the budget subsidiary of Qantas Airways.
"Jetstar has sent another aircraft to fly the passengers to Melbourne," Budhi said.
"However, the faulty aircraft is still in the airport for repair."
The passengers had to wait for about 17 hours before they were flown to Australia.
Budhi said his office followed up the incident by asking for a report from the civil aviation regulatory body of Australia on the cause of the engine failure.
Transportation expert from The Gadjah Mada University, Heru Sutomo, told the Post that as an addition to Australian investigators, Indonesia, as the country where the aircraft was diverted to, could offer local investigation assistants.
"I'm not sure that Indonesia has an official body that is recognized internationally to investigate aircraft incidents," Heru said.
"Only regulatory bodies from advanced countries, such as the U.S. or European countries, have standardized teams for incident investigations," Heru said.
Indonesia has a team for accident investigation for similar scenarios, he said, but the best Indonesia could do was to trust the Australian airline and civil aviation regulatory body.
"A report from Jetstar is not enough -- its report is invalid without a report from the country's regulator."
With regard to Europe's recent airline prohibition against Indonesia, the Transportation Ministry said it was preparing to send official documents and safety progress reports to the European Union.
"The EU official has yet to specify when they will arrive in Indonesia," said Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.
"But we expect them to come in early August."
The EU slapped a ban on all Indonesian airlines on July 6 despite the fact no carriers fly into EU territory at the moment.
However, before the ban, flag carrier Garuda Indonesia announced plans to resume flights into EU territory.
President deplores EU`s ban on RI airlinesSeoul (ANTARA News)
26/07/07
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono deplored the European Union (EU)`s recent decision to ban Indonesian airlines to fly to the EU region."I have received an explanation from the transportation minister after Europe issued the unilateral decision which I do not like. In international relations it is good if we respect each other.
Let us not take unilateral actions because we nead each other in global cooperation," the president said at a press conference here on Wednesday.President Yudhoyono called on all countries, including European countries, to cooperate and not to make unilateral decisions."The spirit of cooperation is not unilateral. I always convey this to friendly countries everywhere," he said.He said the government had already conducted an investigation and discovered that the EU decision was made because a director general at an Indonesian ministry had been too slow in responding to a letter. "The problem was caused by the slow response from the director general.
It is a matter of regret that such a thing has happened. Someone who has caused problems to the state had better quit his r position. Whoever he was, he has tarnished our image, and harmed our economy and transportation sector ," he said.The president said he had asked the transportation minister and the National Aviation Safety Team to conduct negotiations, including with Saudi Arabia which had almost made the same decision."Saudi Arabia did not do it.
Although they use the EU as a reference, because of its good relations with Indonesia. Saudi Arabia did not want to issue a ban," he said.Regarding the decision of the South Korea`s flight safety authorities to blacklist Garuda as a sub-standard airline in terms of safety the president director of the airline, Emirsyah Satar said that South Korea would continue to allow Garuda planes to fly into that country."There is no ban for Indonesian airlines` aircraft to land in any airport in that country," he said.He said he received the assurance from the president of South Korean Airlines, Young-Ho Kim in a meeting on Tuesday.(*)
Monday, July 23, 2007
Flights Ban Due To Lack Of Communication: Indonesian Minister (Malaysia National News Agency, Bernama.com)
By Mohd Nasir Yusoff
JAKARTA, July 23 (Bernama) -- The ban on Indonesian airlines' flights to Europe is the result of a lack of communication with the commercial flight authorities there, Indonesian Transport Minister Jussman Syafli Djamal said today.
He said the authorities in Europe had extended a certificate confirming that the Indonesian national flag carrier Garuda had good maintenance facilities."By right, they should scrutinise the data before imposing any ban because they themselves have acknowledged that Garuda has good maintenance facilities," he told reporters after inspecting the maintenance facilities of Garuda in Cengkareng near here."The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) gave the certificate in recognition of the excellence of the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF).
As such, they should not have categorised Garuda as an unknown airline," he said.Jusman said EASA was scheduled to send a flight safety audit team soon to Indonesia to review the ban on flights by Indonesian airlines to Europe.The European Union on July 6 imposed a ban on the flights after European air safety experts deemed the ban to be necessary after allegedly finding "serious" failings in maintenance, operating, certification and administrative standards.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
EU flight ban only temporary: foreign minister. Yogyakarta (ANTARA News)
20/07/07
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said the flight ban imposed by the European Union on Indonesian airlines was only temporary and would not last long."With consultations, it is expected that the European Union will understand the efforts made by Indonesia in improving the flight safety of its airlines," the foreign minister said after commissioning a secondary school building here on Friday.The school building was built at a cost of Rp5.2 billion with funds contributed by the foreign ministry.
Wirayuda said the European Union was expected to review its flight ban because the policy was taken not based on political considerations but on the fact that the Indonesian flight safety team had revealed a problem in the country`s aviation system."What happened was there was lack of information because the European Union was not informed of the second report of the Indonesian aviation safety team which said that national flag carrier Garuda`s aircraft were airworthy," the foreign minister said.
He said the relevant parties had continued to hold consultations and the European Union would in the next one or two weeks send a team to Jakarta."The Foreign Ministry has sent a letter asking the European Union to have a discussion with us on the matter," Wirayuda said.The European Commission recently announced it was banning 51 Indonesian airline companies from flying to its member countries as of July 6, 2007 because of flight safety concerns.The EU experts recommended the ban in response to a series of air accidents in Indonesia earlier this year.Some quarters consider the ban to be a heavy blow to Indonesian airline companies and tourism. "Some four million European tourists visit Indonesia every year while the number of Indonesians visiting the continent is more than that," Gustanto M Hum, chairman of the Tourism Study Program of the University of North Sumatra, said recently.
Friday, July 20, 2007
ASEAN support sought on EU flight ban (The Jakarta Post)
20/07/07
DENPASAR: Indonesia is seeking support from its Southeast Asian neighbors to convince the European Union, which recently banned Indonesian carriers from flying into the EU, that the quality of its airlines is improving.
The ASEAN Transportation Working Group is meeting here until Friday. Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Supriyadi Ervan said Thursday that an EU representative, Klaus Gael, had been invited to the meeting despite the ban not being on the meeting's agenda.
At the meeting, talks were continued on liberalizing the airline industry in the region, the nations of which have committed to creating an ASEAN "Single Aviation Market" by 2015. The working group also discussed cooperation with non-ASEAN countries such as Japan, South Korea, India, China, the United States and the EU.
As for the ASEAN open sky policy, Ervan said the region had not yet reached an agreement on issues such as territorial boundaries, safeguard policies, final provisions and protocols 7 and 8 on the liberalization of the third and fourth freedoms of the air, which would open routes to every ASEAN city.
The third freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo from one's own country to another, while the fourth freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo from another country to one's own.
Indonesia offered the cities of Balikpapan, Batam, Biak, Makassar, Manado, Palembang and Pontianak for liberalization, insisting it wants the process to take place gradually. Malaysia and Singapore are calling for a faster, more immediate liberalization process. -- JP
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Flight ban won`t affect palcement of Indonesian workers in S ArabiaJakarta (ANTARA News)
Jul 18-2007
Indonesian workers placement program in Saudi Arabia would not be significantly affected by the banning of Indonesian flag carrier Garuda from flying to that country.
Former chairman of the Indonesian Manpower Supplier Agencies (Apjati), Saleh Alwaini, said here on Wednesday that most of the Indonesian manpower supplier firms (PJTKI) had so far used other airline companies than Garuda Indonesia."PJTKIs have so far used about ten airlines. So, if it is true that there is a ban, it would not affect the Indonesian workers placement program in Saudi Arabia," Alwaini said.He said that the ten airlines included Saudia, Philippine Air, Emirates, Yamania, Etiha Airways and Qatar Airlines.
Transportation Minister Jasman Syafii Djamal denied on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had banned Indonesian airlines from flying its air space.
He said Saudi Arabia had instead expressed willingness to meet Indonesian civil aviation authorities about the EU`s prohibition."They have only sent a letter to the air transportation directorate general saying Saudi Arabia`s Civil Aviation Authority is willing to meet with its counterpart, the Indonesian civil aviation authority," the minister said.
He said Saudi Arabia wanted to know in detail the reason for the EU`s decision to bar Indonesian airlines from flying to the 27-nation block.
Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni has threatened not to send Indonesian hajj pilgrims if Saudi Arabia banned Indonesian flights.He said if Saudi Arabia followed the example of the European Union (EU) in banning Indonesian airlines from flying to the region for safety concerns, the Indonesian government would not send hajj pilgrims to the Holy Land this year.
The religious minister however warmly welcomed the Saudi Arabian government`s request to be informed in detail about the airworthiness of Indonesian airlines.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Kingdom to Review Garuda Flight Safety (Arab News)
K.S. Ramkumar (JEDDAH, 18 July 2007)
Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are in talks to stave off a ban on Garuda flights to the Kingdom.
A team of experts from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will visit Jakarta for talks with Indonesian officials and spot inspection of safety measures and records of Garuda Indonesia, the national airline of the world’s most populous Muslim country.
An Indonesian team held a meeting with GACA officials at its office here yesterday. It was decided at the meeting that no decision will be taken about a possible ban on Garuda flights until the Saudi team of experts reports back.
The Indonesian team held the meeting following a letter sent by GACA to its counterpart in Indonesia, which extended an invitation to an aviation team to visit Jakarta. At yesterday’s talks, GACA was represented by Capt. Mohammed R. Berenje, vice president, safety and economic regulations; Ahmed El Goueli, avionics airworthiness engineer, International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Cooperation Mission; and Mashhair A. Al-Blowi, airworthiness engineer and inspector, aviation standards and safety.
“Our invitation has been accepted and it should take place within three weeks,” M. Helmy, general manager of Garuda Indonesia for Saudi Arabia and Middle East, told Arab News.
“This shows that Saudi Arabia has so far not banned the Indonesian airline from flying in its airspace but expressed willingness to meet Indonesian civil aviation authorities about the European Union’s prohibition,” Babang Sudaryono, communication attaché at the Consulate General of Indonesia, said.
The EU ban on the Indonesian carrier came into effect on July 6, which followed a move in April by the US Federal Aviation Authority to downgrade Indonesia’s safety rating that amounted to a de facto ban. No Indonesian carrier currently flies to either Europe or the United States. The ban came after two major air disasters in the Indonesian archipelago since the beginning of this year.
The EU ban has led some European tourists to cancel planned trips to Indonesia.
“Saudi Arabia has only sent a letter to the Indonesian Air Transportation Directorate General saying its Civil Aviation Authority is willing to meet with its counterpart, the Indonesian civil aviation authority,” Sudaryono added.
He said Saudi Arabia wanted to know in detail the reason for the EU’s decision to bar Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe. “The visit of Saudi experts will reveal what Indonesia is doing and will do to improve the performance of its airlines,” Sudaryono said.
He said, if necessary, Indonesia would also show Saudi Arabia the flight safety rating it had obtained, including the fact that Garuda’s flight safety conditions had been ranked first.
“We are hopeful the Kingdom will be convinced of our safety measures,” he added.
He said Jakarta had also held meetings with the civil aviation authorities of several other countries like the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea in connection with the EU’s flight ban.Garuda operates eight flights a week from Jakarta to Jeddah, three of them via Riyadh. It has planned up to 60 extra flights between June and September to transport Umrah pilgrims who total 100,000 a year. The carrier is planning to bring 210,000 Haj pilgrims this year. Over 200,000 others, a majority of them housemaids, travel to the Kingdom every year for work
Indonesia faces new airline ban (BBC News, Jakarta)
Lucy Williamson (Jul, 17, 2007)
All Indonesian airlines are banned from flying to the European Union
Saudi Arabia has said it is considering banning Indonesian airlines from flying to the country for safety reasons.
The news comes less than a fortnight after the European Union announced a similar ban on all Indonesian airlines.
The ban came after two major air disasters in the Asian archipelago since the beginning of the year.
The transport ministry said it had received a letter from Saudi Arabia's aviation authority warning of the possible ban on all Indonesian flights.
'Close ties'
According to a ministry spokesman, the ban is the result of a recent EU decision to blacklist Indonesian airlines on safety grounds.
Saudi Arabia, he said, normally follows EU aviation policy, but because of the country's close ties with Indonesia, Riyadh had suggested direct talks to explore the options.
About half a million Indonesians travel to Saudi Arabia every year, for work or pilgrimage.
The country's national carrier, Garuda - the only Indonesian airline to fly to the country - says it is currently in peak season and is expanding its flights to the Saudi state.
No Indonesian airlines currently fly to Europe but the EU ban has already led some European tourists to cancel planned trips to Indonesia, and there are concerns that a widening of the ban could damage the country's image.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
EU auditors 'must scrutinize industry' (The Jakarta Post, Jakarta)
Tony Hotland
Two non-governmental groups on Tuesday asked forthcoming European Commission (EC) aviation safety officials to conduct a thorough investigation into the nuances of Indonesia's aviation industry.
The groups urged the EC officials to include in their audit the reported use of commercial flights for intelligence gathering operations and the failure of the government to press charges against airlines over aviation accidents.
Last week, the EC banned all Indonesian airlines from flying to and from Europe due to distrust caused by the country's poor aviation safety record after a string of accidents and technical mishaps over the past three years.
European Ambassador to Indonesia Jean Breteche said last week that the EC auditors would investigate the condition on the ground following the ban.
The groups also called to attention the murder of rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight in September 2004, which involved fake assignment letters.
Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, a Garuda pilot off-duty at the time, and an alleged intelligence officer onboard the flight in question were found guilty for document forgery.
"There are documented records citing the use of Garuda and Merpati (airlines) in the past as a cover for intelligence works," said Sudaryatmo of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI).
He made reference to two books that highlight his argument. One, a 1993 biography by Julius Pour of military figure Gen. (ret) L.B. Moerdani, who died in 2004, and the other a 2007 book by Ken Conboy on intelligence.
"These facts are a violation of the 1944 Chicago Convention, the fourth article, that strictly forbids all states from using civilian flights against their common use. It endangers the safety of passengers," he said.
Rusdi Marpaung of the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), an organization Munir supported, said the case of Munir's death revealed how Garuda, the nation's flag carrier, was not up to international standards.
He highlighted the "fake assignment letter involving (Garuda's) chief director, the failure to contact the ground when Munir was falling sick and less than minimum medical kits" on the flight.
Sudaryatmo said the state's failure to hold airlines accountable when accidents have occurred constituted a rights abuse.
He also said the police are not inclined to look past the excuses issued by airlines, such as poor weather and engine malfunctions, to explain accidents, despite the fact lives had been lost.
"Airline companies (should) be charged for negligence given that lives are at stake here. The fact that none have ever been brought to court leaves no daunting effect (on safety)," Sudaryatmo said.
He said airlines are inexcusably responsible for handling poor weather conditions and maintaining their aircraft.
If sanctions were placed on airlines for negligence, he added, the domestic aviation industry would likely be encouraged to comply with international safety standards and passengers would be empowered to hold airlines accountable for carelessness.
Indonesia has witnessed several air accidents and troubled take-offs and landings in recent years.
The government announced in March the results of an audit of 20 domestic airlines, which showed that not one was in full compliance with safety regulations at that time.
Airline bans a temporary setback, says official (The Jakarta Post, Jakarta)
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.
EU to review Indonesia airline ban (MWC.News Network)
Experts from the European Union will head to Jakarta to review a ban prohibiting 51 Indonesian airlines from entering European airspace due to safety concerns.
The team is expected to check the safety standards of the affected airlines before considering whether or not to lift the ban which took effect on Friday. Although none of the affected airlines - including national carrier Garuda - fly to Europe, the ban requires tour agencies to warn customers that Indonesian airlines are unsafe when selling related packages. Indonesian aviation officials were unhappy over the decision, saying the ban was ill-informed as it failed to take into account recent improvements to airline safety. The EU "blacklist" is updated every three months based on reports from the US Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as well as reports from individual countries. Jean Breteche, the EU's ambassador to Indonesia, said the EU team would check with the affected airlines on their safety conditions. "We hope to reverse the decision as soon as possible ... if the EU has enough proof of safety conditions," he said after a meeting with Indonesian aviation officials.
Booming sector Indonesia's air safety record has come under scrutiny after two major accidents this year. In March, a Garuda passenger jet with 140 people on board overshot the runway in Yogyakarta in Java and burst into flames, killing 21 people. In January, an aircraft belonging to budget carrier Adam Air crashed into the sea off Sulawesi, and has yet to be found. All 102 people on board are presumed dead. Indonesia signed an agreement last week with ICAO to improve air safety by committing to implement safety management based on international standards. Indonesia also started issuing safety rankings following the Garuda crash in March.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
EU: No political elements in flight ban on RI's airlines to Europe
Jakarta (ANTARA News) -
Ambassador of the European Union to Indonesia Jean Breteche said there was no political implication in the ban on 51 Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe.
"The flight ban is fully based on flight safety, which is no political consideration behind the ban," Jean Breteche said here on Friday.
According to him, there was however some views on the ban, starting those based on political considerations to business competition among international flight operators.
"The European Commission has monitored the Indonesia`s flight safety records since early this year during which a great number of air accidents happened in this world`s largest archipelagic country," she said.
She further said that a discussion was then held by members of the European Union Flight Safety Committee, and some flight experts from Europe.
In the meantime, Benny Soetrisno of the Indonesian Exporters Association believed that the ban on Indonesian airlines` flights to the European Union (EU) will have no impact on the country`s airbone-exports to the region as exporters have been using foreign airlines for their exports.
Benny said many exporters had used foreign airlines since the national flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia ceased its scheduled flights to European destinations a few years ago.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Furniture Producers Association (Asmindo) Ambar Tjahjono feared that the ban would reduce the number of Europeans going to Indonesia to buy their poducts, and this situation may eventually reduce furniture exports to Europe.
"The impact may be felt in the next few months," he said.
He said furniture buyers used to visiting the factories to see for themselves the poducts they would buy.
The ban will become official when the European Commission endorses its experts` recommendation on July 6 by adding the Indonesian airlines to EU`s list of unsafe airline companies.
The EU is Indonesia`s fourth biggest market for its exports after Japan, the United States and Singapore. Last year, Indonesia`s exports to the region reached US$1.07 billion.
Source: www.antara.co.id/en
Japan Satisfied with Garuda's Air Safety standard
Tokyo (ANTARA News)
Japan`s Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) said a Garuda Indonesia GA-881 plane can continue to fly to the Japanese destinations following its spot checks carried out on the plane over the weekend.
"The CAB`s inspection team is satisfied with the air safety standards of Garuda planes," Arif Wibowo, Garuda Regional Manager for Japan, China, Korea and the United States, said Saturday.
The results of the spot checks suggested that Japan differed from the European Union (EU) about the air safety standards of Garuda planes, he said.
The spot checks came nearly a week after the EU`s aviation experts issued a recommendation for the 27-nation block to ban all 51 Indonesian airlines from flying to the region, citing unsafe flights as a reason.
Japan is the second country that believes Indonesian airlines remain airworthy. The Australian Embassy in Jakarta said this week that Australia`s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) had confirmed that a series of spot checks carried out on Garuda so far this year had not identified any major problems.
N Nakamura, who led the spot checks on the Garuda plane on Friday (July 6) said the Indonesian flag-carrier was highly committed to complying with air safety and security regulations.
It took a day for the CAB`s inspection team to carry out the spot checks on the Garuda plane serving the Tokyo-Denpasar-Jakarta route.
Given the results of spot checks, Japan had no reason to ban its citizens from using Indonesian airlines, Arif said.
Source from www.antara.co.id
Jakarta threatens reprisals over EU airline ban
Indonesia yesterday threatened to retaliate against a European Union ban on all 51 of its civilian airlines unless negotiations resulted in a lifting of the prohibition.
The EU's decision, made on safety grounds, is due to come into effect today. It follows a move in April by the US Federal Aviation Authority to downgrade Indonesia's safety rating, which amounted to a de facto ban on Indonesian airlines.
No Indonesian carriers fly to either Europe or the US. But Indonesia's tourism industry believes the ban could cost it hundreds of millions of dollars if tourists cancel trips and avoid taking domestic flights.
Budi Suyitno, the deputy transport minister responsible for aviation, yesterday accused the EU of acting prematurely - citing countries such as Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore which have not banned Garuda Indonesia, the nation's flag carrier.
"This is not a technical matter. We think this is a political matter because we gave them all the data they requested before their safety commission met," he said. "We would retaliate if, and only if, the EU does not engage with us. We want constructive dialogue, collaboration and co-operation."
Michele Cercone, a European Commission transport spokesman, said the ban was made purely on safety grounds. "Retaliation would not help solve the problem. The only thing that will help is improving safety standards."
The EU said it imposed the ban because of the FAA action and the latest International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety reports, which indicated "serious shortcomings with regard to the capability of the civil aviation authorities of Indonesia".
In addition, the Indonesian authorities "did not reply adequately and in a timely manner when concerns about [civil aviation] safety" were raised.
Peter Gibson, of Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, said its inspectors had found "no significant safety issues" with Garuda aircraft in Australia.
Hong Kong authorities said they had never encountered a problem with Garuda while Singapore said it regularly checked all aircraft entering Singapore and was seeking more information.
Roberto Gonzales, the ICAO president, said on Thursday during a visit to Indonesia that the EU move might have been misplaced.
Additional reporting by Robin Kwong in Hong Kong.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
EU to send air safety experts to Indonesia
Indonesian aviation officials said the ban was ill-informed as it failed to take into account this year's improvements.
The EU "blacklist" is updated every three months based on reports from international airline bodies, including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as well as reports from individual countries.
"We will send a team of safety experts from European countries to check with airlines on safety conditions," Jean Breteche, the EU's ambassador to Indonesia, told reporters after a meeting with Indonesian aviation authorities.
"We hope to reverse the decision as soon as possible ... if the EU has enough proof of safety conditions."
The Southeast Asian nation's air safety record has come under scrutiny after two accidents this year.
In March, a Garuda Indonesia plane with 140 people on board overshot the runway in Yogyakarta in Java and burst into flames, killing 21 people.
In January, a plane belonging to budget carrier Adam Air crashed into the sea off Sulawesi island. All 102 on board are presumed dead.
This week, Indonesia signed an agreement with ICAO to improve air safety, committing itself to implement safety management based on international standards.
Indonesia also started issuing safety rankings following the Garuda crash in March. Garuda made the top of three levels in the latest rankings issued last month.
Air travel in Indonesia has blossomed since the liberalisation of the sector in 1999, but the rapid growth has raised questions over whether safety has been compromised.
Everyone, All Together Now, Take a Deep Breath
Editorial: Both Indonesian and European Officials Need to Raise Their Game in the Quest to Achieve a Safe Aviation Policy.
The Indonesian tourism industry suffered another body blow when the EU recently announced its intention to blacklist all Indonesian air carriers; branding the 51 commercial airlines operating in Indonesia as "unsafe" in a single stroke of a tar brush.
Are Indonesian Airlines Really Unsafe?
That a number of Indonesian airlines are falling short of the mark in safety management is not in dispute as evidenced by a rash of recent tragic mishaps and a remarkably courageous and damning public report reviewing the entire industry issued in March by the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation.
However, whether or not the entire Indonesian aviation industry is truly unsafe, as claimed by the EU, is a much more difficult question to answer if we pause to consider the following:
• Despite recent mishaps, Indonesian airlines, including Garuda, do not hold the dubious distinction of causing a record number of air fatalities. A visit to a website tracking airline fatalities [Airline Crash Fatalities] show a large number of other international air carriers have much more lethal histories, including American Airlines, China Airlines, Air India, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Pan Am, Saudi Arabia Airlines, Thai Airways and United Airlines.
• Other statistics that explore fatalities per flown air mile would similarly show that, on a whole, Indonesian airlines do not merit being singled out as anything approaching cavalier on matters of aviation safety.
• The far-reaching decision to generalize and label all Indonesian carriers as "unsafe" apparently was done by the "Eurocrats" in Brussels at a distance without the aid of a direct audit. Jean Breteche, the EU Ambassador to Jakarta, admitted as much in the Jakarta Post this week, saying that the decision to impose "blacklisting" was done after the Indonesian aviation authorities failed to respond to two letters inviting them to air consultation. This statement suggests that the current aviation warning has more to do with pique than any concrete information on the true status of Indonesian aviation.
• Garuda Indonesia operates in conformance with International Aviation Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) standards set by the United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). For the Garuda to be considered to meet UN standards on one hand and to fall short of the EU's requirements is confusing, at best.
While we hope cooler minds will triumph in current discussions in Jakarta seeking retaliatory measure against the EU, it is understandable if, in some quarters, the EU decision is viewed with suspicion and seen as both imperialistic and heavy handed. Given the fact that the decision to "blacklist" Indonesian aviation was made without consultation with the Indonesian authorities, we wonder if a final public warning calling more data before a stated deadline would not have been a more prudent move.
Similarly, statements by ICAO officials attending a conference in Bali this week have also questioned the wisdom of the "blacklisting", terming the EU decision a misunderstanding.
Let's All Take a Deep Breath
Given the current situation, a simple apology from the EU might be in order suggesting their recent statements were premature and unfounded. Such an apology could be paired with a call for an urgent joint review of aviation practice and policy in order to truly determine the state of aviation safety in Indonesia. Such a measured approach would best serve the EU, Indonesia and the flying public.
In retrospect, if there is a bright side to the current imbroglio, it is the refreshing openness with which the Indonesia officials have greeted the banning announcement; offering open access to their national aviation system to both inspectors and safety consultants. In light of this, the proper response from the EU would be an eager acceptance to work with the Indonesians on safety management issues in order to truly guarantee and enhance the safety of their citizens flying in Indonesia's air space.
Source:www.balidiscovery.com
