Indonesia threatens ban on airlines
A report in the Age says that seven large airlines will be banned within three months if they continue to fail safety requirements under a shake-up which Indonesian Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa says will enhance aviation standards.
Mr Radjasa said airports would also be upgraded, including lengthening Yogyakarta’s runway, adding he was considering banning passenger jets that are more than 10 years old, with most planes now flying older than 20 years.
Mr Radjasa promised to release the full voice recording from the cockpit of the Garuda flight that crashed in Yogyakarta last month, killing 21 people including five Australians.
An investigation by Indonesia’s Transport Safety Commission has pointed to pilot error resulting in the plane landing at excessive speed on a runway that did not meet international specifications, but Mr Radjasa refused to speculate on why the pilot landed at 410 km/h, nearly double the maximum safe speed.
The Commission’s Chairman, Tatang Kurniadi, told The Age that Captain Marwoto Komar was claiming a wind “pushed” his plane faster during the landing. “He felt he was pushed, there were winds,” he said.
Investigators were seeking further information from Meteorology Office officials to confirm the pilot’s claim.
“He did not try to reduce (his speed). But then we have to find out why,” Mr Kurniadi said.
Mr Radjasa said the cockpit voice recording would be released when the investigation ended in about three months. “We will open to the public, we have done it before,” he said.
Mr Kurniadi expressed concern about the promise and said the voice recording could not be used in any criminal case against the Garuda pilot. Police are conducting a parallel criminal investigation into the crash.
By 2009, all major Indonesian airports would be upgraded to meet international standards and would be equipped with instrument landing systems and modern radar, Mr Radjasa said.
If the seven airlines with the lowest ranking in a recent safety check did not make changes within three months, “we will close them”, Mr Radjasa said.
The United States has advised its citizens not to fly on Indonesian airlines, saying recent accidents raise questions about aviation safety.
In the message to its citizens in Indonesia yesterday, the US embassy cited an audit by the Indonesian civil aviation agency, saying that the audit of 54 firms last month revealed none made it to the first of three rating classes, while six were told to comply with safety regulations in three months or face closure.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt