The Indonesian unit of budget carrier AirAsia has moved to allay fears it will be grounded due to Indonesia government directive banning airlines with too much negative equity.
"We wish to emphasise that operation remains as per normal and suggestions that our operational licence will be called into question are not accurate," said Sunu Widyatmoko, AirAsia president.
AirAsia said the equity question was ‘never an issue’ and it will hold talks with Indonesia’s transport ministry to ensure it complies with the directive.
The Indonesian government said it would enforce strict rules on airline finances to ensure all carriers had sufficient funds to maintain safety standards.
It said AirAsia Indonesia and 12 other carriers were identified as in negative equity, and could be grounded by the end of the month if funds were not raised.
Aviation analysts called the move a knee-jerk reaction that is unlikely to be enforced as it gives airlines little time to raise the necessary funding.
This seems to have been heeded with the ministry today adopting a more conciliatory tone, saying it would "help and support" airlines to get their finances back on track.
However it had already sparked a nervous reaction from investors with AirAsia Group shares closing down 12.8% earlier this week.
Indonesian aviation has long suffered for a perceived poor safety record, back in the public eye after last week’s crash of a military transport plane, killing more than 140 people, and December’s crash of an Indonesia AirAsia plane which killed all 162 people on board.
