The Australian government has instructed all of its employees and sub-contractors not to fly with Lion Air until further notice after one of its jets crashed into the Java Sea on Monday, killing all 189 onboard.
The Indonesian low-cost airline had, until 2016, been banned from flying to Europe due to safety concerns and it had only recently passed IATA’s operational safety audit.
The Australian government has never previously issued a travel ban for any particular airline and the country’s civil aviation authority was not consulted prior to the announcement being made.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: "Following the fatal crash of a Lion Air plane on 29 October 2018, Australian government officials and contractors have been instructed not to fly on Lion Air or their subsidiary airlines.
"This decision will be reviewed when the findings of the crash investigation are clear."
Rescue workers believe they have found the wreckage of the jet on the seabed and divers are on their way to confirm the find.
Lion Air Group also operates regional airline Wings Air and full-service Batik Air which flies to Perth from Bali.
Before Monday’s crash, Lion Air’s last fatal accident was 14 years ago and it has been involved in a number of accidents since.
Indonesia transport minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the government has ordered checks to be carried out on all Boeing MAX 8 jets.
It has emerged that faulty airspeed indicators in the cockpit might have caused the aircraft to come down shortly after take off.
