Garuda Indonesia’s chief set to be fired

Thursday, 05 Dec, 2019 0

Garuda Indonesia’s chief has been told to get on his bike after a smuggling allegation.

Garuda Indonesia president Askhara Danadiputra will be fired for smuggling a Harley Davidson motorcycle into the country on a new jet it just had delivered from Airbus.

Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises minister Erick Thohir said Askhara will be relieved of his position.

Askhara attempted to smuggle the classic motorcycle into the country without declaring it, Thohir said.

"This has tarnished the image of state-owned enterprises," Thohir said. "We will not stop here, we will keep seeking other persons involved in this case."

Customs officials discovered the motorcycle, other bike parts and two folding bicycles when the plane arrived at Garuda’s maintenance hangar at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

The items were liable for excise duty of more than $100,000, said finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

Askhara travelled on the plane along with other airline officials.

It is one of 14 A330neo planes Garuda ordered from Airbus.

Askhara could face criminal charges, the ministry said.

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

Nium was founded on the mission to build the global payments infrastructure of tomorrow, today. With the onset of the on-demand...

Swallows and Amazons is a Brazilian adventure tour company run by the husband and wife team of Tania and Mark...

Centara Hotels & Resorts is Thailand’s leading hotel operator. Its 93 properties span all major Thai destinations plus the Maldives,...

Travel Outlook, the premier hotel call center™ Travel Outlook is an innovative, custom off-site central reservations office (CRO) service that...

We make travel accessible for everyone We believe everyone should be free to experience the world. For us, there’s no...

Traveltek is the world-leading provider of online solutions for the travel trade, from consumer-facing websites to call centre applications. We...

The superpower in bed banks for 30 years We are an award-winning and trusted accommodation wholesaler since 1991. We are...

Located in the heart of the Northeast and within easy driving distance of a third of the population of the...

ITB Asia, Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show, is an annually held B2B trade show and convention for the travel industry; it is designed...

Located in the Mediterranean and connecting Asia and European continents that are separated by the famous Bosphorus, Türkiye is a...

We’re here to provide the very best experience in train travel. From booking your ticket, to asking us a question...

Offering the most powerful portfolio in the industry, our 30 brands and 8,000+ properties across 139 countries and territories give...

Classic Collection is where travel expertise and personal service combine to create the perfect luxury holiday. Our travel agent partners...

Princess Hotels & Resorts is a hotel chain specialising in holiday and urban hotels located in first class tourist destinations,...

Family-owned Olympic Holidays has been arranging holidays to Greece, the Greek islands and Cyprus for more than half century. The company is unrivalled...

Queensland – where it’s rude not to stare Here in Queensland, there’s plenty to do. But there’s even more to...

Cunard is the operator of luxury cruise ships Queen Mary 2®, Queen Victoria® and Queen Elizabeth®. Renowned for impeccable White...

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels...