By John Aglionby in Jakarta
Published: July 6 2007 03:00 Last updated: July 6 2007 03:00
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
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