AirAsia not authorised to operate QZ8501 on day of crash
Indonesia’s transport ministry is to probe all airline schedules in the country after it revealed Air Asia had violated the terms of its license on the Surabaya-Singapore route.
The director general of air transport, Djoko Murjatmodjo said the airline did not have authorization to fly the route on Sundays and has suspended all flights on the route while it probes all flight schedules.
"It violated the route permit given, the schedule given, that’s the problem," Djoko said.
"We will carry out an audit or an evaluation on all airlines in Indonesia over whether there are any violations related to route, time and schedule," he said.
AirAsia Indonesia Chief executive Sunu Widyatmoko said the carrier would "fully co-operate with the government in that evaluation process".
The flight permit allowed flights on four days of the week but not on a Sunday, the day the crash occurred, Djoko said.
"We will also investigate the party that gave permission to AirAsia to fly on that day," he added.
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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.
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