DFAT took the unusual if not unprecedented step this weekend of posting on their website the details of a story covered in TravelMole last week, in that the Indonesian Government has warned a number of Indonesian carrier that they are operating up to required standards.
The issues came to light as a result of the Indonesian Government undertaking a recent aviation audit which revealed that the national carrier Garuda, involved in recent major accident and dozens of smaller Indonesian passenger and charter airlines were not complying with a range of requirements including safety.
As a result of the audit, ordered by the Indonesian Government after a spate of deadly air accidents, including this month’s Garuda GA-200 crash landing at Jogjakarta that killed 21 people, including five Australians, the Indonesian Government has given six smaller commercial airlines three months to improve safety standards or face closure.
While the DFAT warning does not go quite as far as advising Australians not to travel on Garuda or any other Indonesian airline including the six under warning to improve operations, the unusual and thought to be unprecedented announcement does say that travellers to Indonesia should take the information provided “into account and check with their travel agents”.
The audit investigated fifty four airlines with none being awarded the first of three rating classes, designed by international aviation experts and with which most major international airlines comply.
Fifteen airlines, including six passenger airlines, came in the lowest category meeting only minimal safety standards, with national carrier Garuda only making the second grade.
The airlines given the three month warning are AdamAir, Kartika Airlines, Jatayu, Batavia, Trans Wisata Air and Dirgantara.
Report by The Mole
